K O O L E U W S S NE I

The fanzine devoted to Doctor Who Gaming ISSUE # 5

‰DOCUMENTS FOR THE FUTURE‰ ADVENTURE MODULE „PLANET OF THE BROKEN‰ ADVENTURE MODULE ONE DIE TO RULE THEM ALL - GREATEST SCI-FI FILMS CHICAGO TARDIS 2010 CON REPORT and MORE...

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EDITOR’S NOTES CONTENTS

Welcome to our new look issue! Well, we have not changed that much in our fan‐ EDITOR’S NOTES 2 zine but we did update a few items to improve our pres‐ REVIEW: Doctor Who Solitary Story Game 3 entation. We have a new main logo to match the current A Perfect Gift for Any Dorkbomber 5 series logo, as well as a new die logo that will appear at Doctor Who‐Adventures in Time & Space Forum 6 the end of our articles, to let readers know that the arti‐ Doctor Who for the iPad and iPhone 6 cle they are reading is wrapping up. Thanks to the efforts The Greatest Sci‐Fi Films 7 of one of our ardent supporters for creating these for us! RETRO REVIEW: The Rebel’s Gamble 14 This issue has some great items in it for our read‐ MODULE: “Documents For The Future” 15 ers. The article ”One Die to Rule Them All” is a follow on One Die To Rule Them All 17 from our poll in Issue #2, and comes with a lot of charts d10 Conversion Charts 19 that we think many players will enjoy, and would allow EVENT REPORT: Chicago TARDIS 2010 Con 27 players to convert the Doctor Who RPGs to a percentile MODULE: “Planet of the Broken” 46 system if desired! Our article on the Chicago TARDIS GM TIPS: A Look At Game Time Management 49 2010 Doctor Who convention should also be a fun read. Tips on Speeding Up a Game 49 It was here that some of the DDWRPG staff and writers Things for Timely GMs to Consider 51 were able to do a panel on Doctor Who role‐playing PLAYER TIPS: After the Game 52 games. We were also able to be part of running an ad‐ GAMER POLL: Favorite Beverage at a Game 53 venture using the new Cubicle 7 rules. The convention CARTOON: Our UNIT 53 was a brilliant event and we hope that our readers sup‐ BACK COVER: Coming Next Issue 54 port the con. Our article on “The Greatest Sci‐Fi Films” grew beyond our expectations as we surveyed those films that we felt were indispensable to having a great back‐ ground in science fiction film. We encourage our readers who have not seen all the films in our list to give them a watch. Obviously not every film will be everyone’s cup of tea, but watching them should broaden anyone’s hori‐ zons. We also have a look at time management for Game Masters. Making sure that games start and end on time is key to a good gaming experience especially when play‐ ers have responsibilities outside the game. Hopefully we can give you a few tips to help you out. MAGE IS THE MILWAUKEE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING’S We are always looking for new contributors, so if (MSOE) SCIENCE FICTION, GAMING, ANIME’ AND CHESS CLUB. you want to be a part of our team, contact us at the fol‐ IT COMBINED THE SCHOOL’S ORIGINAL DOCTOR WHO CLUB (“The Time Engineers”) WITH THE GAMING CLUB (“The Gam‐ lowing address: [email protected] . ing Association”) AND ADDED ANIME’. THE NAME ORIGI‐ We hope that you enjoy this issue and that it adds NALLY WAS AN ACRONYMN THAT STOOD FOR “MSOE ANIME to your gaming and Doctor Who enjoyment. Remember AND GAMING ENTHUSIASTS” BUT WHEN THE UNIVERSITY’S to send us your comments, articles and submissions. CHESS CLUB FOLDED AND WAS ABSORBED BY MAGE, THE CLUB’S ACRONYMN SIMPLY BECAME THE NAME. THE CLUB ‐Nick “Zepo” Seidler HAS SUPPORTED THE DDWRPG DOCTOR WHO RPG CAM‐ PAIGN FOR THE PAST 13 YEARS!

DIARY OF THE DOCTOR WHO ROLE-PLAYING GAMES - A DOCTOR WHO FANZINE is published by the Earthbound TimeLords © 2010. Issue #5 published 10 December 2010. The fanzine is published for the purpose of review and enhancement of the Doctor Who television program and its related Doctor Who role-playing games and is FREE. ‘Doctor Who’ and related photos are copyright to the BBC, and no infringement of their (or anyone else's) copyrights is intended. Articles are copyright of their respective authors. Support the BBC and the program. Contact the Earthbound TimeLords at [email protected] . Print Run is Electronic.

This issue of the fanzine is dedicated to the members of MAGE, the science fiction, gaming, anime and chess club at the Milwaukee School of Engineering who have been active players in our ongoing Doctor Who RPG campaign from 1997 until present. Thanks to all of the players that were and are a part of our continuing campaign.

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REVIEW: THE DOCTOR WHO SOLITARY STORY GAME

•••½ of ••••• FAN–MADE SOLO PLAY RPG GAME FREE DOWNLOAD DOWNLOADABLE AT: http://www.boardgamegeek.com

If one is going to look for a unique gaming experience, and wants to play a game all by themselves, an item that you might find interesting is the fan‐made Doctor Who Solitary Story Game by Simon Cogan. First of all, this game is completely free to those that are interested and it is available on‐line as a download. It is not an official product, but if it was, it would be a great start! The concept of the Doctor Who Solitary Story Game is a bit like a choose‐your‐ own‐adventure book, except that the game comes in four general books (the Rules Booklet, the Events Booklet, the Adventure Booklet, and the Enemy Booklet – all pic‐ tured on the left). Rather than make only a single decision at each juncture, the game is played in turns. In each turn, the player follows a set order of play to include an Ac‐ tion, then usually an Encounter, and sometimes some Fighting. As each of these stages of a turn happens you are referred to a specific paragraph that can be found in one of the game’s four main books, and often you have to roll 2d6 to determine the outcome of certain situations that happen. After the turn is finished, the player than begins the next turn and follows the game pattern over again, as they try to solved the mystery or adventure at hand. As a player follows the instructions of the paragraphs, and makes their way through the free‐form story, they may acquire new equipment, allies, or companions. By the end, you may find yourself having defeated the villains or having been thwarted in your attempt. The game’s realization is a bit of a mixed bag. The game looks great and has wonderful cover artwork. Inside the images are nice and the layout clear and easy to focus on. However, when we first tried to play the game using the instructions in the rule book, we got a bit lost as to what we were supposed to do. It can sometimes be hard to understand where to start or where to go, as the game directs one to different paragraphs in different books to follow the story arc. Understanding what to do in a turn and how to proceed with play is not completely self‐evident. Reading just the basic rules at the start of the Rules Booklet did not help us enough to understand the game at first read. However, once we downloaded the Example of Play, we were able to catch on to how the game’s story telling style works, and proceed through a game. The example of play really should be a part of the Rules Booklet proper. It is invalu‐ able for enjoying the game. It does take some time to get used to the coding system for each book. For example e230 means paragraph 230 in the Events Booklet, but there is also an Enemy Booklet (which obviously also starts with the letter “e”) so that was confusing as there were a number of times we could not remember which book to go to. The Enemy Booklet’s paragraphs actually start with the letter “v”. If this is the case why not sim‐ ply call it the “Villains Booklet” and avoid the confusion? Sure, we know that Daleks are monsters not villains, but in a story based game such as this every indicator that helps one through the story, rather than breaking up the pace by making one look for the right book, makes the game flow and play better. At the very least, perhaps a large letter in the right hand corner of each booklet’s cover would quickly remind us which paragraphs are inside each booklet. Also hard to follow was that paragraphs in each booklet start with different numbers. For example, all Adventure Booklet paragraphs are numbers that are in the THE GAME’S FOUR CORE BOOKS

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400s (Rules Booklet paragraphs are in the 300s, Events Booklet paragraphs are in 000s, and Enemy Booklet paragraphs are in the 500s). We could not figure out why the num‐ bering was so spread out, especially since the paragraphs each start with a letter desig‐ nator for the book anyway. Every adventure is started in the TARDIS on the first page of the of the Adventure Booklet at paragraph a400. This was confusing in two ways: first, the game itself does not start in the core rule book, and secondly it starts at the number 400. Why not have the first paragraph of every adventure start in the rule book (where most players will start their understanding of the game), at the first paragraph of play (thus r001 seems the logical place for every game to begin and branch out from). It would have made more sense, and been easier to follow if each booklet simply started with its letter and then a simple number starting with 001 and building on after that. Because the numbers were so high as we began, we were not sure if we had missed something, as the logic of the paragraph numbering did not quite make sense. As for the game itself, it really depends on how imaginative you are as a player as to how interesting the game really is to you. As you move from paragraph to para‐ graph through a solo adventure, each paragraph gives you an idea of what happens in that juncture of the story. However, to allow the game to be flexible, each paragraph is somewhat generic and does not overly give you a lot of detail, just a general idea of what has happened. For instance you may meet a companion such as Sarah Jane Smith but exactly what details happens in your encounter (the drama of meeting her just as we saw in “School Reunion”) is absent, but the general points of who she is and how she helps you (by giving you more points towards a victory over a baddie or by directing you to new equipment that will help solve the adventure) are included. Thus a player must use their own imagination to think about how the details of an encounter might happen, and then move on using the game mechanic to try to solve the plot at hand. The same is true for some of the other encounters of villain interactions—the player has to fill in the details of exactly how the story itself unfolds. As such, the game is hard for some first time players to follow, especially if they are used to more details of how en‐ counters unfold (because of their role‐playing experience or choose‐your‐own‐ adventure reading experiences). With the numerous constructive criticisms this review has already given, one might expect us to say that the game is choppy and occasionally hard to follow—and this is true. One might also expect us to say that the game is not worth the effort—but then you would be wrong. Completely wrong. The Doctor Who Solitaire Story Game is actually quite brilliant once a player is able to sort out how to follow the game! In step by step fashion the game allows a player to create their own adventure and follow it from beginning to end. The dice rolls in the game, and the fact that a player tracks their points as they go, ensures that no two adventures are exactly the same! As we play tested the game for this review, we tried to recreate the exact circumstances of one of our adventures by making the same choices, but were unable to exactly follow the same path. This was interesting and exciting to us, and felt a lot like a standard role‐playing game in which every game is unique. The random tables that are found during play en‐ sure that players do not always meet the same villains, assistants, or get the same equipment with which to solve the adventure at hand. The game’s play is quite fulfilling once, as a player, you choose the right actions, and gain the proper equipment or assistance to overcome the villains. We recommend writing down exactly what happens as the game unfolds, just like in the Example of Play, to keep track of the story, as this helps you keep the adventure in perspective and helps you keep your points straight as well. There is a Character Sheet that one can download which helps one keep track of play in this fashion. This is another free supplement that SOME OF THE SUPPLEMENTS we recommend.

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As serious tabletop Doctor Who role‐playing gamers, we actually found another use for the game as well. We thought it was an excellent Game Master resource for generating random adventures for our standard RPG sessions. If a GM is ever short of plot ideas in a Doctor Who universe, playing an adventure with the Doctor Who Soli‐ tary Story Game will be a double pleasure. It allows the GM to play through their own solo adventure and randomly generate a plot and story that they can then recycle and play as a tabletop adventure with their gaming party. Obviously in the following table‐ top game the players may make their own choices and solve the adventure in their own way, but the GM will have the adventure outline all together and understand the plot’s arc. This is perhaps the best random plot generator for any RPG, let alone Doc‐ tor Who, that we have ever seen, and thus we have to commend the author and those that have supplemented the effort for the results. One of the other things that we really liked about the game is that the writers have extensively supported the system by creating numerous supplements for it. As of the time we wrote this review there have been four classic expansions of the game that were made (for Doctors one through four), as well as special supplements such as quick reference adventure cards, item (equipment) cards, and companion cards. Spe‐ cial supplements that focus on historical adventures, friends, and legendary adven‐ tures have also been made. There are also special supplements that featured a look at the 2009 Specials (“The End of Time”) and also a newly updated “The Eleventh Hour” supplement featuring the newest Doctor. In all, the range is very well supported and we hope to see more in the range, at least completing the classic series supplements to include all of the classic Doctors. There is so much potential for this great system. Overall, our assessment of the Doctor Who Solitary Story Game is that it could easily be a commercial product if it were refined a hair more, and the logic of where to go from book to book was easier to follow. The game is still a little bit rough around the edges but once a player gets into an adventure and grasp’s the game’s mechanics, a whole wide world of adventure awaits the imagination! We also see this is an excel‐ SOME MORE SUPPLEMENTS lent support piece to a standard Doctor Who RPG as a product that helps one generate adventure ideas. We know that we started this review a bit heavy on the constructive criticism, but we did so for two reasons. We know that first time players will bring up exactly those critical points and we want to prepare players for what to expect, and secondly, we enjoyed the game so much that in being prepared for these points, we hope that others will be willing to try the game and get the most out of what really is an outstanding effort on the part of the authors. With near limitless replayability, the Doctor Who Solitary Story Game is a worthy effort and one we really recommend! Don’t wait...

The Doctor Who Solitary Story Game can be downloaded for free at: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/42142/doctor‐who‐solitaire‐story‐game

3½ out of 5 TARDISes.

THE PERFECT GIFT FOR ANY DORKBOMBER

We found an image on‐line of this home‐made Doctor Who themed Rubik’s Cube. Now that we are nearing the holidays, this might be that very simple gift that you can make for that someone special that has almost everything Doctor Who. You can buy stickers for a Rubik’s cube or make your own using printing labels. A Rubik’s cube itself only runs about $7 so it would a rather cheap gift. After all, homemade and personal gifts are the best and this will please any Doctor Who fan. It can be made using the sticker guide cut‐outs that can be found free at: http://blue‐storm‐spirit.deviantart.com/art/TARDIS‐Cube‐glow‐in‐the‐dark‐170362757

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DOCTOR WHO-ADVENTURES IN TIME & SPACE FORUM

There is a great place to go on‐line to get news, information, and ideas for Cubicle 7’s Doctor Who‐Adventures in Time & Space: The Roleplaying Game RPG. Nicknamed the DWAiTS Forum it can be found at: http://dwaitas.proboards.com/index.cgi

We give the forum high marks for its positive offerings and discussions regarding the new Cubcilce 7 RPG (as well as other games too). The DWAiTS Forum has been a great place to get information on the Doctor Who game, and is a great place for gamers to share their ideas. Our favorite thread and download so far has been the compiled article download which includes all of the adventure seed ideas, character ideas, gadget ideas and so on that have been posted compiled into a single download. The file also gets updated regu‐ larly. Check out the great set of combined resources at: http://dwaitas.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=writeups&action=display&thread=251&page=2

It was nice to see that members of the forum recently discovered our fanzine and we seem to have gotten some positive feedback. We recommend that our readers check out the forum for an expanded DWAiTS experience.

DOCTOR WHO FOR THE iPAD and iPHONE

News has just hit that a new Doctor Who game is being released for the iPad and iPhone and will be called “Doctor Who—Mazes of Time” The game should be ready before Christmas and will be developed by Dundee, Scotland‐based developer Tag Games. Whether the game will make it to the USA has yet to be seen, but as it is an app for the popular iPad/iPhone it should be available on‐line and available via the net.

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THE GREATEST SCI-FI FILMS

A group of our staff were sitting around before one of our Doctor Who gaming sessions and we started talk‐ ing about science fiction films that we felt were under‐rated. This turned into a discussion about sci‐fi films that we felt everyone should see at least once because of how strong the film was. There was debate about what consti‐ tuted a sci‐fi film: should horror films based on sci‐fi be included (yes), would we accept fantasy films even though they could be an alternate reality (no, as much as we love them (poor Harry Potter and Indiana Jones)), should we include remakes (yes, especially if they were better than the originals—a rarity), should we include animated films (no), and are we including TV movies, shows or series (no—that’s another article)? We also said, “No Doctor Who.” After a bit of back and forth debating on our criteria, which was never truly concretely set, we decided to start listing those films that we felt were indispensible films to watch to have a solid basis in sci‐fi film, as well as those movies that we considered greats though perhaps not as many people have seen them as should have. Films and their settings often give Game Masters great ideas to use in their adventures, and our own campaign has often featured modules in the settings of these films or directly borrowed plots or elements from some of them. For in‐ stance, our TARDIS crew regularly has adventures in the Star Wars and Aliens universes. We encourage GMs to use plots, or settings, or tech items from these films for their own modules as appropriate. We hope that our readers take the time to watch some of those films that they have not seen or take the opportunity to revisit and perhaps reevaluate a film that is listed that they have seen. Understanding that the con‐ cepts of science fiction are often timeless and build on one another, we decided to present our list in order of re‐ lease. We hope you enjoy our list, and try the movies you have not seen.

THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON ‐ FRANKENSTEIN ‐ (1931) b&w. (1919) Silent and b&w. Based Based on what is considered to be on an H.G. Wells novel, this the first sci‐fi novel by Mary Shelley. short film is really the first sci‐ A story about organ replacement ence fiction film. The film fea‐ and science being able to recreate tured all of the trappings usually life. Often thought of as only a hor‐ associated with the genre: spaceships, beautiful ror movie and the start of the mon‐ women, alien moon men, and advanced special ef‐ ster movie genre, this is sci‐fi at its fects (at least for its time—though many are still used early crossover best. Thomas Edi‐ in film today in refined form). Best remembered for son filmed an adaptation in 1910, but this Universal the shot in which the rocket lands in the eye of the “talkie” film, is the classic. man in the moon. KING KONG ‐ (1933) b&w. Classic METROPOLIS ‐ (1927) Silent and tale of the of exploration and the b&w, German. Perhaps the most discovery of an over‐sized gorilla. influential sci‐fi film. The beginning Themes of freedom and exploitation of dystopian sci‐fi and social com‐ are often missed for the monster mentary in the genre, in a story and effects. Ignore the 1978 or about the plight of the workers ver‐ 2005 derivative versions and enjoy sus the wealthy industrialists. Add the original and its brilliance. a mad scientist with a cybernetic hand, robot replicants, and a future city design that still hold up, and THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN ‐ you have an undeniable classic. Its themes are as rele‐ (1935) b&w. Few sequels are as vant today as they were in the 1920s (perhaps more strong as the original, but here is so). A new restored edition, with over 20 minutes of one of the few on our list. Dr. Pre‐ newly found footage from Argentina, was just re‐ torius wants to continue Dr. Frank‐ leased, helping restore the movie to its most complete enstein’s experiments but this time version yet. A triumph of story and design, it’s hard to reanimate a woman. Classic sci‐fi describe its influence without seeing it. often thought of only as horror.

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THINGS TO COME ‐ (1936) b&w. The THE TIME MACHINE ‐ (1960) The clas‐ only film that H.G. Wells wrote while sic take on H.G. Wells’ time travel he was alive. A great film about visi‐ story of what a man experiences as he tors from space coming to a post‐ moves forward through time to dis‐ apocalyptic Earth to possibly save cover that the world has radically mankind. The costumes and design changed, and not for the better. The has influenced post‐apocalyptic films film was horribly remade in 2002. and sci‐fi since. Worth at least one viewing to see Wells do cinema. DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE ‐ (1961) monochrome, UK. A warning THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL ‐ tale of man’s uncaring pursuit of sci‐ (1951) b&w. For god’s sake not the ence and race for weapon superiority 2008 Keaunu Reeves remake that re‐ gone wrong. A reporter recalls the wrote the story and bombed. Watch events that unfolded leading up to a the original, about visitors that come plan to save the planet Earth. But will from space and warn us about our it work… own self‐destructive nature in the nu‐ clear age. An improved take on the FAHRENHEIT 451 ‐ (1966) Ironic that similarly plotted Things to Come. the film, which supports the pursuit of reading (as opposed to films), is so GOJIRA (aka GODZILLA) ‐ (1954) Ja‐ effective at demonstrating the horror pan. Often thought of as simply a of an oppressive government that has man‐in‐suit monster movie, the origi‐ outlawed books. Based on Ray nal Gojira is an excellent anti‐nuclear Bradbury’s excellent book, and su‐ tale that warns of the danger of un‐ perbly double acted by the cast. checked scientific ambition. This film has held up better than many from PLANET OF THE APES ‐ (1968) Strong the same era. film based on the French book. The film that effectively warns of man’s FORBIDDEN PLANET ‐ (1956) A space self‐destructive impulses with one sin‐ patrol encounters a scientist, his gle pull‐back shot of the Statue of Lib‐ beautiful daughter, and his multi‐ erty. Just say NO to the worst‐ever function robot on a near empty remake (made in 2001). planet. The scientist has discovered the remnants of an alien civilization NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD ‐ (1968) and their technology. However, will b&w. The original George Romero the group’s dreams actually destroy zombie film blames space radiation for them? the undead’s reawakening thus mak‐ ing this a sci‐fi series. The start of INVASION OF THE BODY many a zombie film, the plot and reali‐ SNATCHERS ‐ (1956) People zation is brilliant. The 1990 color re‐ are being replaced one at a make has its own value, but is not time by an alien threat that worthy of this list. has come to Earth in strange plant‐like pods. The story 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY ‐ (1968) plays on paranoia and was a Spanning all of man’s evolution, until great allegory to the communist threat that worried he takes the next step. This film pre‐ people at the time. The film involved the viewers di‐ dicted the commercialization of space, rectly, as a character breaks the fourth wall looks di‐ orbiting space stations, and warned rectly into the screen and tells the audience, “They’re of the dangers of unchecked artificial here already! You’re next! You’re next!” Could the intelligence. It redefined sci‐fi. aliens (or communists) be right next to us?!

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BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES ROLLERBALL ‐ (1975) Not the 2002 ‐ (1970) A surprisingly strong movie, poorer remake that deserves no and the second sequel on the list. consideration. Rollerball is all about The story continues right after the using the power of athlete celebrity events of the first film. More hu‐ to literally change the world. No man astronauts arrive, the apes are more corporate control of sports. A willing to enter the forbidden zone, film easily 35 years ahead of its and human mutants all converge to time as sports now need a reset. surprising results. STAR WARS ‐ (1977) A film that re‐ A CLOCKWORK ORANGE ‐ (1971) A defined sci‐fi storytelling and special look at an ultraviolent future through effects. The first film stands on its the experiences of a teenage delin‐ own better than any in the series. quent. The film investigates deeper The Empire Strikes Back is often ethical social concerns, such as teen‐ quoted as the best of the series, but agers with no direction, the govern‐ it would be nowhere without the ment’s policy on corrections and how original. A pop culture must see. government addresses social ills. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCH‐ THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN ‐ (1971) ERS ‐ (1978) Our second remake on Based on Michael Crichton's novel, the list. Miles better than the the film gives us a scenario where weaker efforts of 1993’s remake scientists try to stop a deadly alien Body Snatchers and 2007’s The Inva‐ organism from escaping out of their sion. Somehow darker and creepier own laboratory that has been con‐ than the original. taminated. Slow by modern stan‐ dards but full of human interest. DAWN OF THE DEAD ‐ (1978) An‐ other sequel, and not 2004’s re‐ THX 1138 ‐ (1971) Based on George make. Finally bringing color to Ro‐ Lucas’s 1967 student film Electronic mero’s zombies, this film really Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB expanded brings home the collapse of civiliza‐ to a full length feature. The film in‐ tion under the zombie threat. All vestigates a bland dystopian future in other zombie films have taken a which the government controls all page from this film’s book. aspects of people’s lives like an evil empire. Excellent social content. ALIEN ‐ (1979) The film that re‐ defined science fiction horror. This SILENT RUNNING ‐ (1972) Until movie established the alien xeno‐ 2009’s Avatar, no sci‐fi film was morphs as a serious threat to all life more directly aimed at environ‐ in the universe. Somehow alien mental issues. A product of the threats were never as dangerous 1970’s concern for preserving our and have rarely been topped. planet, this film’s journey is as strong as its message. MAD MAX 2 (aka THE ROAD WAR‐

RIOR) ‐ (1981) Australian. One of SOYLENT GREEN ‐ (1973) A look at the few films on the list better than the near future where over‐ the original (Mad Max). Perhaps population threatens man’s exis‐ the best chase sequence ever seen tence on the planet. A film much on film is a highlight to perhaps the deeper and investigative of the issue most realistic post‐apocalyptic film than the single line near the ending ever made. High adrenaline action. that the movie is known for.

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TRON ‐ (1982) The first sci‐fi film of BACK TO THE FUTURE ‐ (1985) Our the real computer age, featuring second teen movie on the list and the very basic computer animation and a first to deal with time travel. Back to Cyberpunk plot of people entering the Future is often thought of as a the virtual world of a computer’s cy‐ lighthearted tale (which it is), but it berspace. A bit cheesy, but better also deals directly with time para‐ than most people remember. Due doxes better than most films. to have a sequel this year... BRAZIL ‐ (1985) Perhaps the closest BLADE RUNNER ‐ (1982) The film film to what life in George Orwell’s that got the flesh‐world part of a Cy‐ 1984 would be like. This film is sec‐ berpunk dystopia exactly correct. ond to none at describing life in an The 1991 Director’s Cut is superior oppressive authoritarian society rid‐ to the original, but 2009’s Final Cut dled with bureaucracy. Perhaps changes one word (from ‘fucker” to closer to our present society then we “father”) which changes the context would like to accept. completely and weakens the film. A triumph of design and story. THE QUIET EARTH ‐ (1985) New Zea‐ land. A film about finding out that THE THING ‐ (1982) A remake of the you are the last man on Earth and 1951 film The Thing From Another what your life might be like. But World and loads better. With Alien what if there was one other person this is probably the best sci‐fi horror there to share it with you? What if film ever. Antarctic scientists find there were two other people... something in the ice. With a haunt‐ ing soundtrack and perfect ending. ALIENS ‐ (1986) One of the best se‐ quels ever made, in that the film WARGAMES ‐ (1983) The first com‐ did not stick with the horror of the mercial hacker film which is aimed original alone, but made it a sci‐fi at teens but is a great romp. It war horror film—and the best ever warns of technology that is left un‐ to boot. The 1991 laserdisc re‐ checked. Not quite timeless, the leased extended directors cut is es‐ setting is stuck in the 1980s, but it pecially noteworthy (and now on serves as a great reminder that the DVD and Blu‐Ray). topic itself is (now) timeless. PREDATOR ‐ (1987) Predator gave VIDEODROME ‐ (1983) Marshall sci‐fi war films a different twist, McLuhan would love this film about with a look at guerilla warfare. media changing its viewers take on The camouflage alien has been reality and healthy motivations. iconic ever since, even influencing Videodrome was as creepy as one games like HALO. Sequels were so‐ could imagine in 1983, and it still so and 2009’s Predators was a good holds us as a crazy mind trip. outing, but only the first makes our cut as a must‐see film THE TERMINATOR ‐ (1984) The film that perhaps most neatly and prop‐ ROBOCOP ‐ (1987) Law enforce‐ erly folds in its own time travel ment in the violent future. Verho‐ paradox. With a story about the ven’s cyborg policeman warns that triumph of man over machine with important decisions such as crimi‐ fetal (or fatal) consequences de‐ nal apprehension should not be left pending on the outcome. to machines alone.

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THE RUNNING MAN ‐ (1987) The 12 MONKEYS ‐ (1995) Based on the film with a message about what the 1962 French short film Le Jetée, this future of entertainment might be. enhanced remake becomes one of Well at least the UFC or WWE TV the best time travel and conspiracy shows have proved the film was not films ever. It takes a while for the right, as their participants are not viewer to catch up to exactly what is criminals and do not fight to the happening, but as the film unfolds so death. Otherwise, pretty spot on. does the conspiracy.

THE HIDDEN ‐ (1987) Low budget CITY OF LOST CHILDREN ‐ (1995) with a great plot, this film shows French. Children are going missing, that great ideas are not stunted be‐ and no one quite knows why, until a cause a film does not have a huge girl and a circus strongman discover budget. An FBI agent tracks a body‐ that a mad scientist may be behind hopping alien that is leaving a trail of the kidnappings. But why? Nothing dead bodies. But just how long has quite looks like or has the feel of this the manhunt been going on? genre bending film.

THEY LIVE ‐ (1988) There’s a reason THE ARRIVAL ‐ (1996) A scientist is for all the homelessness that plagues looking into the problem of Global our society and also the worship of Warming and as he investigates the capital and wealth. But the reason problem he discovers that it may not may not be as easy to see as we be mankind’s fault. His investiga‐ think. A great film if you are looking tions lead him South where he dis‐ for something to do rather than just covers more than he expected. kick ass or chew bubble gum. THE FIFTH ELEMENT ‐ (1997) Ulti‐ THE BLOOD OF HEROES ‐ (1989) In mate evil threatens mankind, which the post‐apocalyptic future sports can only find hope in the feminine are played with a dog’s skull. Can form of the fifth element to help one fight the powers that be indi‐ save the world. Some viewers can‐ rectly, though the sport itself is vio‐ not wrap their heads around the un‐ lent? A great look at the power of defined threat, but the film is a tri‐ popularity over strength. umphant look at human culture.

TOTAL RECALL ‐ (1990) Understand‐ CONTACT ‐ (1997) Carl Sagan’s anti‐ ing which reality you are in and who religious and pro‐science book is you are is more important than any‐ filmed for an American audience thing else. A film that reminds us (and toned down in its message). that our fantasies and dreams may But the strength of this first contact not be as safe as we think they are. with extraterrestrial life story is still What if we wake up in our dream? brilliant (but read the book too).

TIMECOP ‐ (1994) Jean Claude Van CUBE ‐ (1997) Canada. A group of Damme was known for his karate people find themselves inside of a films, but Timecop was his strongest cube which is filled with deadly film and does not concentrate on his traps. Moving from room to identi‐ martial arts. A great plot of time cal room, the group may discover travel and having to make the choice that the deadliest of threats may be of how to save a loved one under moving with them as they investi‐ difficult and strange circumstances. gate each room as they go...

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GATTACA ‐ (1997) Perhaps one of PITCH BLACK ‐ (2000) Featuring per‐ the most poignant and relevant haps the greatest spaceship crash films made just before the dawn of sequence of all time, the film goes in the human genome age. How far a completely different direction than we drift towards Gattaca’s future the viewer first expects as the movie remains to be seen. The film is truly begins. The character of Riddick is a warning to our future. Let’s hope one of the best anti‐heroes ever. it is nothing like Gattaca’s. Another film with a dismal sequel.

EVENT HORIZON ‐ (1997) The dark EQUILIBRIUM ‐ (2002) Only Brazil horror sci‐fi film about an experi‐ might rival this film as the best mental spaceship that returns from dystopian film of all time. Christian the first faster than light trip, but it Bale’s acting ability sells the film in seems that something very bad hap‐ which emotions are outlawed by the pened to the crew when they oppressive government because of moved through the various dimen‐ all the problems that our feelings sions of hyperspace. Dark and scary. have caused us. Beware sense crime.

STARSHIP TROOPERS ‐ (1997) Based MINORITY REPORT ‐ (2002) What if on Robert Heinlein’s excellent mili‐ the police department could accu‐ tary space novel. The film misses rately predict crimes and arrest peo‐ many of the detailed points and ple before they kill someone? But plots of the book, but is itself a what might happen if the predic‐ warning of fascism and militarism tions were not accurate or if they run amuck in its own right. Full of could maybe be influenced? A film pretty and violent eye candy. that warns of police power abuse.

DARK CITY ‐ (1998) A haunting tale 28 DAYS LATER ‐ (2002) Often about people that live in a city that thought of as simply a modern turns out not to be real and has (running) zombie film. This one fea‐ been created around them. It actu‐ tures 9th Doctor Christopher Ec‐ ally beat The Matrix to the idea by a cleston. People try to deal with a year. More surreal than The Matrix deadly virus that has affected the but also a hair more stylish. whole of the UK. Zombies hunt sur‐ vivors as civilization falls apart. SOLDIER ‐ (1998) Written by David Peoples, the story seems to take UNDERWORLD ‐ (2003) Thought of place in the Blade Runner universe as a Vampires versus Werewolves in a story about a soldier who has film, this one actually gives a scien‐ been discarded when new genetic tific reason for their existence and modified soldiers replace him. thus drifts into sci‐fi. One of the When he finds a reason to fight, most stylish and action oriented motivation and tactics are more im‐ films of the vampire (sci‐fi) genre. portant than genetic design. I ROBOT ‐ (2004) An Isaac Asimov THE MATRIX ‐ (1999) One of the story first done on TV’s Outer Limits. great Cyberpunk films, that firmly This film only uses a bare idea from steeps itself in the philosophy of the Asimov but weaves its own story genre. It is important to never about a robot that is accused of watch the sequels or the film’s bril‐ murder, violating one of the prime liance will be tainted forever. laws of robotics.

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NOCHNOY DOZOR (aka NIGHT‐ REPO: THE GENETIC OPERA ‐ (2008) WATCH) ‐ (2004) Russia. A film A bit of a novelty as this film is a sci‐ based on the Russian novel that is fi musical, and also holds the record really hard to classify. Part sci‐fi, for the most songs in a single film. part horror, part mystical, it seems That set aside, the story of a man to try to ground itself in science. who repossesses the body organs The forces of light keep the forces of of those who cannot make their dark in check. payments is rather strong.

THE ISLAND ‐ (2005) While the issue OUTLANDER ‐ (2008) Low budget of cloning is a serious concern that with high results. This film tells the we are now facing, The Island takes story of a space traveler whose us to a place where the laws to pre‐ ship crashes in the Norway of the vent human cloning are circum‐ 1300s. But there was something vented for the advantage of the else on board his spacecraft too, rich. Perhaps the most realistic sce‐ and now the locals have been see‐ nario we might see in the future. ing dragons...

V FOR VENDETTA ‐ (2006) Another DISTRICT 9 ‐ (2009) With the plot dystopian future taken from Alan of a spaceship arriving over Johan‐ Moore’s comic book series. Recy‐ nesburg, South Africa, the social cling the ending of Spartacus to context of aliens coming to Earth is great effect as a fascist government not lost. But the subtleties of ex‐ rules the near future. Natalie Port‐ ploration of the human condition man’s shaved head makes a visual through the film make this a tour point of what freedom really is. de force in a look at our humanity.

DNEVNOY DOZOR (aka DAY‐ PANDORUM ‐ (2009) One day you WATCH) ‐ (2006) Russia. The se‐ wake up on a spaceship and you quel to Nightwatch and the second have no memory of what your half of the series’ features a time deep space mission was all about. travel plot. There are 3 more books Then over time you discover that in the series that probably won’t be you were asleep much longer than made into films, but this and the you thought and things aboard original should not be missed. your ship have changed for the worse. Much better than its title. THE PRESTIGE ‐ (2006) A film about two Victorian era rival magicians. There will clearly be readers who would have With the inclusion of Nicolai Tesla’s chosen other movies to include on this list, or that will strange electrical experiments, this demand that we retract some of the choices that we film becomes sci‐fi. This is a movie have made. As with all art, the beauty of a work is in that should be watched multiple the eye of the beholder. Here at DDWRPG we think times to truly grasp the ending. that being familiar with these films will at least give

you a good background with which to appreciate vari‐ NEXT ‐ (2007) What if you could see ous forms of science fiction, and will also give Game just 2 minutes into the future? Masters good ideas to use to describe the visual ele‐ Would that significantly change ments when table top gaming. If you have not seen your life? How would you live it? some of the films on this list, take the opportunity to What if you found out about a plot give them a watch. More than likely, you will find that would change the world? This yourself enjoying the ride, and you may also learn film investigates the possibilities. something new along the way...

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RETRO REVIEW: DOCTOR WHO AND THE REBEL’S GAMBLE: A SOLO-PLAY ADVENTURE GAME

•••½ of ••••• SOLO PLAY RPG ADVENTURE BOOK By William H. Keith Jr. (Published by FASA) ISBN 0‐931787‐68‐8 ORIGINAL PRICE $3.95 / TT COLLECTABLE PRICE £10 ($15)

Perhaps one of the more interesting offerings from FASA publishing were two solo‐play RPG adventure module books that were made to support their role‐ playing game. One was called Doctor Who and the Vortex Crystal and the other was Doctor Who and the Rebel’s Gamble, which we review here. The plot of Doctor Who and the Rebel’s Gamble takes the player through an adventure in history during the American Civil War. The player has the role of the character of the Sixth Doctor who is joined by his companion Peri, as well as his former companion Harry Sullivan. Why Harry is a part of the adventure is un‐ known. But as the other book in the series features the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith, it may have been that this was originally a Fourth Doctor adventure. Perhaps the characters were changed to the Sixth Doctor as by the time of the book’s release Colin Baker had the role. Anyways, the Sixth Doctor, Peri, and Harry find themselves meeting a man from another time in the present day who is trying to change the outcome of the American Civil War and help the South win. The players must track the man through numerous important battles, and set time straight to ensure that history takes the right course. The adventure is mostly historical in nature, which is odd for most Doctor Who offerings of the 1980s, and it is also surprisingly historically accurate. The author was clearly familiar with the war and the details of the battles. As for play, most often, solo play adventure books are simple choose your own adventure books with a few dice rolls to make choices for the path that one takes. But this offering from FASA is much more than that and ac‐ tually is one of the most interactive choose your own adventure RPGs. At the beginning of the book, players are given the Doctor’s various stats (as reflected in the FASA Doctor Who RPG) and numerous times in the adventure the stats are directly referred to and modified for play. The game does not just branch to different choices, but is affected by dice rolls against the stats. The book also includes a neat feature where players can randomly flip through the book, and there are numbers in the upper right of each page, removing the need for dice in a pinch. This was a very nice touch for the game book. The game even presents rules, that if the Doctor is to regenerate during an adventure, the game can continue with the Doctor having new stats. Overall this offering is truly a game more than it is a simple book, and that is something we really liked. The adventure itself is very robust using saving, combat, and verbal interaction rolls through out the game and interacting with the mini‐character sheet and the stats. The game actually allows the player to “ask” (or choose) various questions at certain points to get more historical information that will help make better choices as the game continues. As such, players actually learn more about history allowing them to improve as they make their way through the adventure. This is the first game that actually increases a player’s knowledge and learning curve as one plays through the adventure. As a historical adventure this was a very neat plus, and resulted in our learning the history as well as enjoying the game. The adventure features numerous possible outcomes depending on how well you do and even gives a rea‐ son for why you would be able to replay the adventure if you were to fail to accomplish the mission. This is a level of detail very rarely seen in solo‐play adventures. Usually you simply win or lose. Doctor Who and the Rebel's Gamble can end many different ways which raised the replayability of the game itself. It is not often that we try to go back and replay a solo adventure after we have lost (or won) the first time. Overall, this is one of those rare of‐ ferings we recommend tracking down. It is a bit hard to find these days, but as an official Doctor Who role‐playing product it also adds to one’s RPG gaming collection as well.

3½ out of 5 TARDISes.

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MODULE: “DOCUMENTS FOR THE FUTURE”

“Documents For the Future” is a Doctor Who adventure module set on the planet Earth in 2011CE and 1999CE. and features UNIT. This adventure deals with the TARDIS crew tasked to protect valuable computer data that needs to be saved while the doomsday clocks ticks towards oblivion...

After a somewhat bumpy approach flight and landing, the TARDIS materializes with the crew in the year 2011CE at UNIT Headquarters as an alert has gone out that UNIT needs assistance. Arriving, the TARDIS crew has landed in the UNIT HQ Library Archive Vault among stacks of old paper files and books. As soon as they land, the characters find the whole headquarters under alert, and they are almost immediately apprehended by twitchy UNIT soldiers. The crew members will be held by the UNIT guards, until they are identified as time travelers there to help the Unified Intelligence Task Force. Upon meeting with the new Brigadier in charge, the crew learn that UNIT is the last chance to save the world. Nuclear missiles from the world’s three great powers (Russia, the United States, and China) have been set to launch and UNIT has been called on to deactivate the codes. But the codes have been destroyed and no one knows how to stop the countdown that will obliterate the whole planet! The Brigadier will explain that the situation has come about for the following reason: a meteorite entered Earth’s atmosphere, and it happened to contain uranium isotopes as part of its makeup. With the heat and pres‐ sure of reentry it caused the uranium to undergo fission which created an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) high in the Earth’s atmosphere. This pulse sent a wave of energy across the globe knocking out a large amount of the world’s electronics. The great powers of the planet had dead man’s switches on their nuclear arsenals, to ensure that if there was a first strike by their opponents their own nuclear arsenals would still launch. With the pulse, all elec‐ tronics were wiped out, which the mechanical dead man’s switches detected as a loss of all communications ‐ acti‐ vating the automatic launch sequences of the remaining nuclear arsenals. Using tube radios and other backup communications such as wire telephones, the representatives of the countries have called to ask UNIT for the fail‐ safe codes, so that they can deactivate the missile launches manually. But UNIT has found itself in a bind. It com‐ puterized the failsafe codes in 2002CE and UNIT’s own hard drives with the information have been destroyed— fried by the EMP as well. The last hope for the planet lies with the time travelers of the TARDIS crew. The Brigadier will let the characters know that the world’s failsafe codes were given to UNIT to oversee in the mid‐1970s (per the episode “Robot”). The data was stored on the hard drives that were kept under lock and key in the UNIT HQ com‐ puter labs starting in 1985CE. Before that, the data was kept in hard copy files, that were destroyed upon computerization. Time Lord characters, or characters with skills in Physics or Temporal Science, can make rolls to realize that the reason for the TARDIS’s bumpy landing had to do with interference from the EMP, and using the TARDIS itself for a trip back to get the codes is not quite so simple. There will be minuses to pilot the TARDIS and bring it to the right location and time to retrieve the plans. They need to THE DESTROYED HARD DRIVES set off to solve the issue in the past. As the TARDIS takes off with the EMP affecting it, the wind kicks up and files fall to the floor where the TARDIS once stood. (GMs are encouraged to have the players land at one or two wrong locations before finding them‐ selves at UNIT HQ in 1989CE). The Time Lord of the crew should explain that due to the nature of the EMP, time is still moving for‐ ward in the future and the crew only have 2 hours in which they can accomplish their mission to get failsafe code data. Exiting the TARDIS, the players will find themselves arriv‐ ing in the UNIT (United Nations Intelligence Task Force) HQ’s Li‐ brary Archive Vault which is open. Unless the players are particu‐ larly quiet and sneaky, UNIT will again be put on alert and soldiers AMY AND THE DOCTOR ARRIVE AT THE LIBRARY

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come and apprehend the TARDIS travelers. If playing the Doctor and Amy, or other incarnations of the Doctor, UNIT will have very few files on this newer appearance and version of the Doctor, so the UNIT staff will be sus‐ picious. The players will again have to convince the UNIT personnel that they are friendly and are there to help. Eventually the current (1989CE) Colonel will be called to meet with the crew. (If playing the Doctor this will lead to an odd reunion, as Col. Bambera will not yet have met the Doctor (she is not yet a Brigadier as she was in the story “Battlefield” which takes place in the future)). If playing other characters, the players will need to get the support of Bambera using negotiation and diplomacy to win her confidence and get permission to get the data that they need. Going into the computer lab, the players will find two 40 megabyte hard drives (top of the line in the era) that contain the computer codes, and also a dot matrix printer in which they can print out the codes and COLONEL BAMBERA IN 1989CE operating instructions. However this will take much too long. The GM can reinforce this by having the printer break down, or the hard drives stall and need to be rebooted with the Windows 3.1 operating system. Players with skills in Computer Use or Electrical Engineering will be able to modify the computer and printer to work better. If they have some tools or technology parts handy (sonic screwdrivers, etc.) they can speed up the systems. Eventually the players can tweak the computers and printers to print all the needed documents (which will be quite a stack)! But the clock is still ticking and the final print out will not be finished before the two hours have expired, regardless of the efforts of the players. The 1980s computer technology simply cannot cope with the amount of data and information that is needed (and other high tech download methods prove futile). The TARDIS will not be able to make the return trip before time expires for the future! Players making Awareness or Mentality rolls will realize that all is FILES DESTINED FOR RETURN TO THE LIBRARY not lost. As of right now, the world is safe as the future has not happened yet. But the player’s actions now can influence the future. What the play‐ ers need to do is ensure that the files that they have just created survive in UNIT’s library and can be properly discovered. Player can mark the im‐ portant codes by circling them and put them on the top of the stack. They can also label the stack of documents with “DO NOT THROW OUT— IMPORTANT IN THE YEAR 2011!” or something similar. The other thing that the TARDIS crew knows is where the TARDIS lands and takes off from in the future. The TARDIS crew can ensure that the files they have made are kept in the UNIT HQ Library Archive Vault in the proper location by giving very specific instructions to UNIT on where to keep the file, on which shelf, and so on. If the players figure this out, they are able to save UNIT SOLDIERS FROM 2011CE the world… ...because in the future as the TARDIS dematerializes to go to the A LITTLE MORE ACTION past, the winds caused by the dematerialization knock files off of the top of the library shelf, and the Brigadier in 2011CE finds a paper stack that GMs can add sub‐plots to this has fallen onto the place where the TARDIS once stood. The stack is la‐ adventure, such as having the meteor beled “DO NOT THROW OUT—IMPORTANT IN THE YEAR 2011!” and con‐ be a plot by an alien race. The aliens tains all of the failsafe codes that UNIT can provide to the great powers to may have a spy at UNIT trying to pre‐ prevent disaster. The Earth is safe, and the crew can visit the future of vent the crew from saving the planet if 2011CE Earth (or later) if they wish, where they would be greeted by a an extra encounter is needed. happy and victorious UNIT staff who have saved the world.

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ONE DIE TO RULE THEM ALL by EMW3

If you only had one type of polyhedral die type in your bag, what would it be? Our Issue #2 reader poll for favorite polyhedral dice revealed an un‐ expected and interesting result ‐ that the 10‐sided die was the favorite of those polled. However, the poll did not ask the question why this was, or ask the respon‐ dents to give any qualifiers to the selection of their favorite die. As our staff talked about the poll results, we realized that it is possible to generate all of the standard die results from a single die type. It is even possible to generate these results re‐ gardless of the type of die you find to be your favorite. So we decided to under‐ take this mathematical investigation looking at our reader's favorite: the 10‐sided die. This investigation was helped by the fact that the simplest die to diagram and understand for most readers will be the 10‐sided die (d10), as most people think clearly in base 10. Still, if your favorite die is a 6‐sided die (d6), you can ac‐ complish the same results using base 6. But this will be covered in a future article. For the FASA and Cubicle 7 Doctor Who Role Playing Games, most of the rolls required are done with a pair of d6 dice, and those rolls are added together for a final sum. There are six possible outcomes for the first die and six possible outcomes for the second die. This leads to 36 possible combinations; however, a number of these 36 are the same sum when the dice are added together for a final value. The sum of 2 or 12 can only happen one way, with both dice being ones or sixes. But the sum of 4 can happen three ways (the first die being a 1 and the sec‐ ond die being a 3, both dice being a 2, or the first die being a 3 and the second die being a 1). Table 1 illustrates the number of possible combinations to achieve the same sums. Possible Combinations SUM OF 2d6 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5

5 6 6 7 5 8 4 9 3 10 2 11 1 12

TABLE 1: Possible Combinations of Each Sum on 2d6

The possible number of ways each sum can occur is used to assess the probability that the sum will occur when rolling the dice. For example, a sum of 9 should generally come up 4 out of every 36 rolls on 2d6 if the dice were rolled a large number of times. Take note that you will not likely see exactly this distribution when rolling only 36 times on the dice. The more times you roll the dice, the closer to this distribution you will come. The decimal (base 10) equivalent of 1/36 is 0.0278 (the full number is actually a repeating decimal but we have rounded to four digits past the decimal point which is generally exact enough for an RPG). Thus a roll of 0, 2, 7, 8 on 4d10 (with each d10 representing a different decimal place) would equal 0.0278. The number of d10 dice you need to roll is the number of positions past the decimal you wish to round off the result; therefore as we have rounded to 4 decimal places, we need to roll four 10‐sided dice. Each die adds to the overall accuracy and resolu‐ tion of the distribution. Table 2 shows two d6 represented with 4d10 (4 digits of resolution).

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SUM OF 2d6 High Decimal Probability Decimal Equivalent Low Decimal Probability 2 1/36 0.0001 – 0.0277 0/36 3 3/36 0.0278 – 0.0833 1/36 4 6/36 0.0834 – 0.1666 3/36 5 10/36 0.1667 – 0.2777 6/36 6 15/36 0.2778 – 0.4166 10/36 7 21/36 0.4167 – 0.5833 15/36 8 26/36 0.5834 – 0.7222 21/36 9 30/36

0.7223 – 0.8333 26/36 10 33/36 0.8334 – 0.9166 30/36 11 35/36 0.9167 – 0.9722 33/36 12 36/36 0.9723 – 1.000 35/36 TABLE 2: 2d6 to 4d10 Conversion

How do you create Table 2? Do the following steps. Start with determining the number of possible combi‐ nations of the roll being emulated and the number of like combinations (as shown in Table 1). Then, start at the beginning with the lowest possible non‐ zero number for the amount of decimals needed for a good distribution (0.0001). How to determine the number of decimals needed for a good distribution will be cov‐ ered, so hold on to that question for a mo‐ ment. The high value of the decimal equivalent (0.0277) is the number of com‐ binations (1) of the first sum of 2d6 (a roll of 2) divided by the total number of possi‐ ble combinations that a 2d6 can roll (36). The high decimal equivalent value of sub‐ sequent divisions is calculated by adding all the possible combinations that are less than or equal to that sum on 2d6. For ex‐ ample, the upper limit of a sum of 9 on 2d6 adds all of the possible combinations from 2 to 9 (1+2+3+4+5+6+5+4 = 30), showing that 30 out of 36 combinations are equal THE AUTHOR PLAYING AT A DOCTOR WHO RPG GAME USING ONLY d10s FOR ALL ROLLS to 9 or less. The high decimal equivalent value of that division is 0.8333 (that is 30/36). Remember that the upper value of one row needs to be different than the lower value of the next row, which is why in this case four significant digits were used for better resolution. To determine the values around the splits, round the least significant digit down for the upper value and up for the lower value. This is another rea‐ son for choosing 4 digits of resolution for the example. In contrast, Table 3 shows how this same set of probabilities would look with less resolution. Notice that you can still roll this with reasonable distribution and random result. It is recommended that the choice of resolu‐ tion (number of dice and digits) should be derived from the number that is generated for one division. In this ex‐ ample, 1/36 was 0.0278. The first significant figure should be the same in the table as it would be if rounded. Thus 0.0278 would round to 0.03, which is not the same as the upper bound of the first row in Table 3. Therefore, it would be recommended to at least go to 3 significant digits for this example.

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SUM OF 2d6 Decimal Equivalent Low Decimal Probability High Decimal Probability

2 0.01 – 0.02 0/36 1/36 3 0.03 – 0.08 1/36 3/36 4 0.09 – 0.16 3/36 6/36 5 0.17 – 0.27 6/36 10/36 6 0.28 – 0.41 10/36 15/36 7 0.42 – 0.58 15/36 21/36 8 0.59 – 0.72 21/36 26/36 9 0.73 – 0.83 26/36 30/36 10 0.84 – 0.91 30/36 33/36 11 0.92 – 0.97 33/36 35/36 12 0.98 – 1.00 35/36 36/36

TABLE 3: 2d6 to 2d10 Conversion

This same set of exercises can be done for single die results. A single d6 would be 1/6 for each number, equal to 0.1667 or 0.17. Using two d10, this is extremely easy to resolve, using approximately 16% for each num‐ ber (01‐16, 17‐33, 34‐50, 51‐66, 67‐83, and 84‐100). The error in the distribution can be calculated by the total number of combinations (#C) desired divided by the number of sides (#S) on the die raised to the power of the number of dice used (#D).

% Error = #C / #S#D

Less resolution creates a greater level of error. Therefore purists who are trying to get as close as possible to an exact number distribution will want to increase resolution to reduce error as much as possible. Basically, the more d10s you roll, and the more digits there are in your decimal equivalent, the more accurate the roll will be to the actual odds of rolling that number on the proper die. ANOTHER METHOD ? On the following pages, additional tables have been provided to il‐ lustrate a subset of the possibilities for using the decimal equivalent Another method for transfer‐ method for translation between one type of polyhedral into combinations ring the die roll from one type of of 10‐sided polyhedral die or dice. We have included charts that will allow polyhedral die to another is to use a you to use four or five d10 dice to mimic a d2, d3, d4, d5, d6, d7, d8, d12, summation distribution. This is done d14, d16, d20, and d30; as well as charts for the common combinations by mapping the die roll to a range of seen in the Doctor Who RPGs of 2d6, 3d6, 4d6, 5d6, 6d6, 7d6, 8d6, 9d6, the sum of the other polyhedral be‐ and 10d6. Obviously you can also use a d10 to get a number for a d10 or a ing used. This method is not the sub‐ d100 (aka. percentile dice). ject of this discussion and will be left Ultimately, as our readers demanded, the d10 can be the “one die for further investigation at another that rules them all”, but the same could be true for any die – even the d24 time. or d30. But that is a tale for another day…

d10 CONVERSION CHARTS

For those of you who use 2d6 games such as the Doctor Who Role‐ Playing Game we give you on the fol‐ lowing pages (and it is a lot of pages for your benefit) the equivalent charts for Result On Combinations Combinations of SUM / Decimal Equivalent various dice and also d6 combinations 1d2 of SUM Total Combinations 2d10 that often come up. The charts are also 1 1 50.00% 0.01 0.50 good to see what your odds of rolling a 2 1 50.00% 0.51 1.00 number actually are!

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Result Combina‐ Combinations of Decimal Equiva‐ Result Combina‐ Combinations of Decimal Equiva‐ On tions SUM / lent On tions SUM / lent 1d3 of SUM Total Combinations 2d10 1d4 of SUM Total Combinations 2d10 1 1 33.33% 0.01 0.33 1 1 25.00% 0.01 0.25 2 1 33.33% 0.34 0.67 2 1 25.00% 0.26 0.50 3 1 33.33% 0.68 0.99 3 1 25.00% 0.51 0.75 Reroll 1.00 4 1 25.00% 0.76 1.00

Result Combina‐ Combinations of Decimal Equiva‐ Result Combina‐ Combinations of Decimal Equiva‐ On tions SUM / lent On tions SUM / lent 1d5 of SUM Total Combinations 2d10 1d6 of SUM Total Combinations 2d10 1 1 20.00% 0.01 0.20 1 1 16.67% 0.01 0.17 2 1 20.00% 0.21 0.40 2 1 16.67% 0.18 0.33 3 1 20.00% 0.41 0.60 3 1 16.67% 0.34 0.50 4 1 20.00% 0.61 0.80 4 1 16.67% 0.51 0.67 5 1 20.00% 0.81 1.00 5 1 16.67% 0.68 0.83 6 1 16.67% 0.84 1.00

Result Combina‐ Combinations of Decimal Equiva‐ Result Combina‐ Combinations of Decimal Equiva‐ On tions SUM / lent On tions SUM / lent 1d7 of SUM Total Combinations 2d10 1d8 of SUM Total Combinations 2d10 1 1 14.29% 0.01 0.14 1 1 12.50% 0.01 0.13 2 1 14.29% 0.15 0.29 2 1 12.50% 0.14 0.25 3 1 14.29% 0.30 0.43 3 1 12.50% 0.26 0.38 4 1 14.29% 0.44 0.57 4 1 12.50% 0.39 0.50 5 1 14.29% 0.58 0.71 5 1 12.50% 0.51 0.63 6 1 14.29% 0.72 0.86 6 1 12.50% 0.64 0.75 7 1 14.29% 0.87 1.00 7 1 12.50% 0.76 0.88 8 1 12.50% 0.89 1.00

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Result Combina‐ Combinations of Decimal Equiva‐ Result Combina‐ Combinations of Decimal Equiva‐ On tions SUM / lent On tions SUM / lent 1d12 of SUM Total Combinations 2d10 1d14 of SUM Total Combinations 2d10 1 1 8.33% 0.01 0.08 1 1 7.14% 0.01 0.07 2 1 8.33% 0.09 0.17 2 1 7.14% 0.08 0.14 3 1 8.33% 0.18 0.25 3 1 7.14% 0.15 0.21 4 1 8.33% 0.26 0.33 4 1 7.14% 0.22 0.29 5 1 8.33% 0.34 0.42 5 1 7.14% 0.30 0.36 6 1 8.33% 0.43 0.50 6 1 7.14% 0.37 0.43 7 1 8.33% 0.51 0.58 7 1 7.14% 0.44 0.50 8 1 8.33% 0.59 0.67 8 1 7.14% 0.51 0.57 9 1 8.33% 0.68 0.75 9 1 7.14% 0.58 0.64 10 1 8.33% 0.76 0.83 10 1 7.14% 0.65 0.71 11 1 8.33% 0.84 0.92 11 1 7.14% 0.72 0.79 12 1 8.33% 0.93 1.00 12 1 7.14% 0.80 0.86 13 1 7.14% 0.87 0.93 14 1 7.14% 0.94 1.00

Result Combina‐ Combinations of Decimal Equiva‐ Result Combina‐ Combinations of Decimal Equiva‐ On tions SUM / lent On tions SUM / lent 1d16 of SUM Total Combinations 2d10 1d20 of SUM Total Combinations 2d10 1 1 6.25% 0.01 0.06 1 1 5.00% 0.01 0.05 2 1 6.25% 0.07 0.13 2 1 5.00% 0.06 0.10 3 1 6.25% 0.14 0.19 3 1 5.00% 0.11 0.15 4 1 6.25% 0.20 0.25 4 1 5.00% 0.16 0.20 5 1 6.25% 0.26 0.31 5 1 5.00% 0.21 0.25 6 1 6.25% 0.32 0.38 6 1 5.00% 0.26 0.30 7 1 6.25% 0.39 0.44 7 1 5.00% 0.31 0.35 8 1 6.25% 0.45 0.50 8 1 5.00% 0.36 0.40 9 1 6.25% 0.51 0.56 9 1 5.00% 0.41 0.45 10 1 6.25% 0.57 0.63 10 1 5.00% 0.46 0.50 11 1 6.25% 0.64 0.69 11 1 5.00% 0.51 0.55 12 1 6.25% 0.70 0.75 12 1 5.00% 0.56 0.60 13 1 6.25% 0.76 0.81 13 1 5.00% 0.61 0.65 14 1 6.25% 0.82 0.88 14 1 5.00% 0.66 0.70 15 1 6.25% 0.89 0.94 15 1 5.00% 0.71 0.75 16 1 6.25% 0.95 1.00 16 1 5.00% 0.76 0.80 17 1 5.00% 0.81 0.85 18 1 5.00% 0.86 0.90 19 1 5.00% 0.91 0.95 20 1 5.00% 0.96 1.00

21

Result On Combinations Combinations of SUM / Decimal Equivalent 1d30 of SUM Total Combinations 2d10 1 1 3.33% 0.01 0.03 2 1 3.33% 0.04 0.07 3 1 3.33% 0.08 0.10 4 1 3.33% 0.11 0.13 5 1 3.33% 0.14 0.17 6 1 3.33% 0.18 0.20 7 1 3.33% 0.21 0.23 8 1 3.33% 0.24 0.27 9 1 3.33% 0.28 0.30 10 1 3.33% 0.31 0.33 11 1 3.33% 0.34 0.37 12 1 3.33% 0.38 0.40 13 1 3.33% 0.41 0.43 14 1 3.33% 0.44 0.47 15 1 3.33% 0.48 0.50 16 1 3.33% 0.51 0.53 17 1 3.33% 0.54 0.57 18 1 3.33% 0.58 0.60 19 1 3.33% 0.61 0.63 20 1 3.33% 0.64 0.67 21 1 3.33% 0.68 0.70 22 1 3.33% 0.71 0.73 23 1 3.33% 0.74 0.77 24 1 3.33% 0.78 0.80 25 1 3.33% 0.81 0.83 26 1 3.33% 0.84 0.87 27 1 3.33% 0.88 0.90 28 1 3.33% 0.91 0.93 29 1 3.33% 0.94 0.97 30 1 3.33% 0.98 1.00

COLOR CODING DICE

Percentile d10 dice often come with one die representing the tens place (with numbers such as 10, 20, 30, and so on marked on the faces) and another representing the ones place (1,2,3, etc.). But in the early days of gaming, the tens place die did not exist, and they were not really made until the mid‐1990s. Players simply used two d10s each of a different color. Usually one would specify which die color represented the tens place and which represented the ones place. Our DDWRPG house rule is the darker die is always the higher (tens) place. One can use different colored d10s to represent any number—just be sure you know which die repre‐ sents what numeric place. Fortunately, now players can buy dice sets that give a number between 0001 and 10000 ‐ you can see some of these dice on the photos on the following pages.

22

THOSE ELUSIVE CRITS

When it comes to rolling multiple dice with the same number of sides, the number of combi‐ Conversion of 2d6 to 4d10 with <0.5% Error nations that can be rolled creates a bell curve for Combina‐ the results. If you look at the 2d6 chart on the Combina‐ tions of left, you’ll see that only one die combination can Result On tions SUM / Decimal Equivalent come up for a critical success (2) or a critical fail‐ Total Com‐ ure (12) and the chances of that are a tiny 2.78% 2d6 of SUM binations 4d10 of the time, where as rolling a 7 at any given time 2 1 2.78% 0.0001 0.0278 (with 6 possible combinations) is a huge 16.67%. 3 2 5.56% 0.0279 0.0833 Likewise, If you want to know what your chances 4 3 8.33% 0.0834 0.1667 of rolling a 7 or less on a given roll might be, look 5 4 11.11% 0.1668 0.2778 at the high number of the decimal equivalent (in 6 5 13.89% 0.2779 0.4167 this case 0.5833). This means you have a 58.33% 7 6 16.67% 0.4168 0.5833 chance to roll a 7 or less when rolling 2d6. The 8 5 13.89% 0.5834 0.7222 bell curve is what makes critical successes and 9 4 11.11% 0.7223 0.8333 critical failures so rare in Doctor Who RPGs. 10 3 8.33% 0.8334 0.9167 11 2 5.56% 0.9168 0.9722 12 1 2.78% 0.9723 1.0000

Conversion of 4d6 to 4d10 with <1.5% Error Combina‐ Combina‐ tions of Result On tions SUM / Decimal Equivalent Total Com‐ 4d6 of SUM binations 4d10 Conversion of 3d6 to 4d10 with <1.0% Error 4 1 0.83% 0.0001 0.0083 Combina‐ Combina‐ 5 2 1.65% 0.0084 0.0248 Result On tions tions of Decimal Equivalent 6 3 2.48% 0.0249 0.0496 Total Com‐ 7 4 3.31% 0.0497 0.0826 3d6 of SUM binations 4d10 8 5 4.13% 0.0827 0.1240 3 1 1.39% 0.0001 0.0139 9 6 4.96% 0.1241 0.1736 4 2 2.78% 0.0140 0.0417 10 7 5.79% 0.1737 0.2314 5 3 4.17% 0.0418 0.0833 11 8 6.61% 0.2315 0.2975 6 4 5.56% 0.0834 0.1389 12 9 7.44% 0.2976 0.3719 7 5 6.94% 0.1390 0.2083 13 10 8.26% 0.3720 0.4545 8 6 8.33% 0.2084 0.2917 14 11 9.09% 0.4546 0.5455 9 7 9.72% 0.2918 0.3889 15 10 8.26% 0.5456 0.6281 10 8 11.11% 0.3890 0.5000 16 9 7.44% 0.6282 0.7025 11 8 11.11% 0.5001 0.6111 17 8 6.61% 0.7026 0.7686 12 7 9.72% 0.6112 0.7083 18 7 5.79% 0.7687 0.8264 13 6 8.33% 0.7084 0.7917 19 6 4.96% 0.8265 0.8760 14 5 6.94% 0.7918 0.8611 20 5 4.13% 0.8761 0.9174 15 4 5.56% 0.8612 0.9167 21 4 3.31% 0.9175 0.9504 16 3 4.17% 0.9168 0.9583 22 3 2.48% 0.9505 0.9752 17 2 2.78% 0.9584 0.9861 23 2 1.65% 0.9753 0.9917 18 1 1.39% 0.9862 1.0000 24 1 0.83% 0.9918 1.0000

23

Conversion of 5d6 to 4d10 with <2.0% Error Conversion of 6d6 to 5d10 with <0.5% Error Combina‐ Combina‐ Combina‐ tions of Combina‐ tions of Result On tions SUM / Decimal Equivalent Result On tions SUM / Decimal Equivalent Total Com‐ Total Com‐ 5d6 of SUM binations 4d10 6d6 of SUM binations 5d10 5 1 0.55% 0.0001 0.0055 6 1 0.391% 0.00001 0.00391 6 2 1.10% 0.0056 0.0165 7 2 0.781% 0.00392 0.01172 7 3 1.65% 0.0166 0.0330 8 3 1.172% 0.01173 0.02344 8 4 2.20% 0.0331 0.0549 9 4 1.563% 0.02345 0.03906 9 5 2.75% 0.0550 0.0824 10 5 1.953% 0.03907 0.05859 10 6 3.30% 0.0825 0.1154 11 6 2.344% 0.05860 0.08203 11 7 3.85% 0.1155 0.1538 12 7 2.734% 0.08204 0.10938 12 8 4.40% 0.1539 0.1978 13 8 3.125% 0.10939 0.14063 13 9 4.95% 0.1979 0.2473 14 9 3.516% 0.14064 0.17578 14 10 5.49% 0.2474 0.3022 15 10 3.906% 0.17579 0.21484 15 11 6.04% 0.3023 0.3626 16 11 4.297% 0.21485 0.25781 16 12 6.59% 0.3627 0.4286 17 12 4.688% 0.25782 0.30469 17 13 7.14% 0.4287 0.5000 18 13 5.078% 0.30470 0.35547 18 13 7.14% 0.5001 0.5714 19 14 5.469% 0.35548 0.41016 19 12 6.59% 0.5715 0.6374 20 15 5.859% 0.41017 0.46875 20 11 6.04% 0.6375 0.6978 21 16 6.250% 0.46876 0.53125 21 10 5.49% 0.6979 0.7527 22 15 5.859% 0.53126 0.58984 22 9 4.95% 0.7528 0.8022 23 14 5.469% 0.58985 0.64453 23 8 4.40% 0.8023 0.8462 24 13 5.078% 0.64454 0.69531 24 7 3.85% 0.8463 0.8846 25 12 4.688% 0.69532 0.74219 25 6 3.30% 0.8847 0.9176 26 11 4.297% 0.74220 0.78516 26 5 2.75% 0.9177 0.9451 27 10 3.906% 0.78517 0.82422 27 4 2.20% 0.9452 0.9670 28 9 3.516% 0.82423 0.85938 28 3 1.65% 0.9671 0.9835 29 8 3.125% 0.85939 0.89063 29 2 1.10% 0.9836 0.9945 30 7 2.734% 0.89064 0.91797 30 1 0.55% 0.9946 1.0000 31 6 2.344% 0.91798 0.94141 32 5 1.953% 0.94142 0.96094 FROM 4d10 TO 5d10 33 4 1.563% 0.96095 0.97656 34 3 1.172% 0.97657 0.98828 As we go from emulating 5d6 to 6d6 we have 35 2 0.781% 0.98829 0.99609 to add another d10 to our dice pool to represent the 36 1 0.391% 0.99610 1.00000 hundred‐thousandths place. This is because our mar‐ gin of error has increased so much that we are in dan‐ LADY LUCK AND DICE ger of losing acceptable accuracy. Another digit is needed for good resolution to get the proper decimal Many players feel that certain dice roll better equivalent of the dice roll we need. Adding another than others or will say that a die’s luck has “run out” colored die, and knowing what place it represents, will when it stops rolling well. Unless a die is weighted or do the job so that you can keep going. mis‐shaped this is only a popular gamer superstition.

24

Conversion of 7d6 to 5d10 with <0.5% Error Conversion of 8d6 to 5d10 with <0.5% Error Combina‐ Combina‐ Combina‐ tions of Combina‐ tions of Result On tions SUM / Decimal Equivalent Result On tions SUM / Decimal Equivalent Total Com‐ Total Com‐ 7d6 of SUM binations 5d10 8d6 of SUM binations 5d10 7 1 0.292% 0.00001 0.00292 8 1 0.227% 0.00001 0.00227 8 2 0.585% 0.00293 0.00877 9 2 0.454% 0.00228 0.00680 9 3 0.877% 0.00878 0.01754 10 3 0.680% 0.00681 0.01361 10 4 1.170% 0.01755 0.02924 11 4 0.907% 0.01362 0.02268 11 5 1.462% 0.02925 0.04386 12 5 1.134% 0.02269 0.03401 12 6 1.754% 0.04387 0.06140 13 6 1.361% 0.03402 0.04762 13 7 2.047% 0.06141 0.08187 14 7 1.587% 0.04763 0.06349 14 8 2.339% 0.08188 0.10526 15 8 1.814% 0.06350 0.08163 16 9 2.041% 0.08164 0.10204 15 9 2.632% 0.10527 0.13158 17 10 2.268% 0.10205 0.12472 16 10 2.924% 0.13159 0.16082 18 11 2.494% 0.12473 0.14966 17 11 3.216% 0.16083 0.19298 19 12 2.721% 0.14967 0.17687 18 12 3.509% 0.19299 0.22807 20 13 2.948% 0.17688 0.20635 19 13 3.801% 0.22808 0.26608 21 14 3.175% 0.20636 0.23810 20 14 4.094% 0.26609 0.30702 22 15 3.401% 0.23811 0.27211 21 15 4.386% 0.30703 0.35088 23 16 3.628% 0.27212 0.30839 22 16 4.678% 0.35089 0.39766 24 17 3.855% 0.30840 0.34694 23 17 4.971% 0.39767 0.44737 25 18 4.082% 0.34695 0.38776 24 18 5.263% 0.44738 0.50000 26 19 4.308% 0.38777 0.43084 25 18 5.263% 0.50001 0.55263 27 20 4.535% 0.43085 0.47619 26 17 4.971% 0.55264 0.60234 28 21 4.762% 0.47620 0.52381 27 16 4.678% 0.60235 0.64912 29 20 4.535% 0.52382 0.56916 28 15 4.386% 0.64913 0.69298 30 19 4.308% 0.56917 0.61224 29 14 4.094% 0.69299 0.73392 31 18 4.082% 0.61225 0.65306 30 13 3.801% 0.73393 0.77193 32 17 3.855% 0.65307 0.69161 31 12 3.509% 0.77194 0.80702 33 16 3.628% 0.69162 0.72789 32 11 3.216% 0.80703 0.83918 34 15 3.401% 0.72790 0.76190 33 10 2.924% 0.83919 0.86842 35 14 3.175% 0.76191 0.79365 36 13 2.948% 0.79366 0.82313 34 9 2.632% 0.86843 0.89474 37 12 2.721% 0.82314 0.85034 35 8 2.339% 0.89475 0.91813 38 11 2.494% 0.85035 0.87528 36 7 2.047% 0.91814 0.93860 39 10 2.268% 0.87529 0.89796 37 6 1.754% 0.93861 0.95614 40 9 2.041% 0.89797 0.91837 38 5 1.462% 0.95615 0.97076 41 8 1.814% 0.91838 0.93651 39 4 1.170% 0.97077 0.98246 42 7 1.587% 0.93652 0.95238 40 3 0.877% 0.98247 0.99123 43 6 1.361% 0.95239 0.96599 41 2 0.585% 0.99124 0.99708 44 5 1.134% 0.96600 0.97732 42 1 0.292% 0.99709 1.00000 45 4 0.907% 0.97733 0.98639 46 3 0.680% 0.98640 0.99320 47 2 0.454% 0.99321 0.99773 48 1 0.227% 0.99774 1.00000

25

Conversion of 9d6 to 5d10 with <1.0% Error Conversion of 10d6 to 5d10 with <1.0% Error Combina‐ Combina‐ tions of Combina‐ Combina‐ Result On tions SUM / Decimal Equivalent Result On tions tions of Decimal Equivalent Total Com‐ Total Com‐ 9d6 of SUM binations 5d10 10d6 of SUM binations 5d10 9 1 0.181% 0.00001 0.00181 10 1 0.148% 0.00001 0.00148 10 2 0.362% 0.00182 0.00543 11 2 0.296% 0.00149 0.00444 11 3 0.543% 0.00544 0.01087 12 3 0.444% 0.00445 0.00888 12 4 0.725% 0.01088 0.01812 13 4 0.592% 0.00889 0.01479 13 5 0.906% 0.01813 0.02717 14 5 0.740% 0.01480 0.02219 14 6 1.087% 0.02718 0.03804 15 6 0.888% 0.02220 0.03107 15 7 1.268% 0.03805 0.05072 16 7 1.036% 0.03108 0.04142 16 8 1.449% 0.05073 0.06522 17 8 1.183% 0.04143 0.05325 17 9 1.630% 0.06523 0.08152 18 9 1.331% 0.05326 0.06657 18 10 1.812% 0.08153 0.09964 19 10 1.479% 0.06658 0.08136 19 11 1.993% 0.09965 0.11957 20 11 1.627% 0.08137 0.09763 20 12 2.174% 0.11958 0.14130 21 12 1.775% 0.09764 0.11538 22 13 1.923% 0.11539 0.13462 21 13 2.355% 0.14131 0.16486 23 14 2.071% 0.13463 0.15533 22 14 2.536% 0.16487 0.19022 24 15 2.219% 0.15534 0.17751 23 15 2.717% 0.19023 0.21739 25 16 2.367% 0.17752 0.20118 24 16 2.899% 0.21740 0.24638 26 17 2.515% 0.20119 0.22633 25 17 3.080% 0.24639 0.27717 27 18 2.663% 0.22634 0.25296 26 18 3.261% 0.27718 0.30978 28 19 2.811% 0.25297 0.28107 27 19 3.442% 0.30979 0.34420 29 20 2.959% 0.28108 0.31065 28 20 3.623% 0.34421 0.38043 30 21 3.107% 0.31066 0.34172 29 21 3.804% 0.38044 0.41848 31 22 3.254% 0.34173 0.37426 30 22 3.986% 0.41849 0.45833 32 23 3.402% 0.37427 0.40828 31 23 4.167% 0.45834 0.50000 33 24 3.550% 0.40829 0.44379 32 23 4.167% 0.50001 0.54167 34 25 3.698% 0.44380 0.48077 33 22 3.986% 0.54168 0.58152 35 26 3.846% 0.48078 0.51923 34 21 3.804% 0.58153 0.61957 36 25 3.698% 0.51924 0.55621 37 24 3.550% 0.55622 0.59172 35 20 3.623% 0.61958 0.65580 38 23 3.402% 0.59173 0.62574 36 19 3.442% 0.65581 0.69022 39 22 3.254% 0.62575 0.65828 37 18 3.261% 0.69023 0.72283 40 21 3.107% 0.65829 0.68935 38 17 3.080% 0.72284 0.75362 41 20 2.959% 0.68936 0.71893 39 16 2.899% 0.75363 0.78261 42 19 2.811% 0.71894 0.74704 40 15 2.717% 0.78262 0.80978 43 18 2.663% 0.74705 0.77367 41 14 2.536% 0.80979 0.83514 44 17 2.515% 0.77368 0.79882 42 13 2.355% 0.83515 0.85870 45 16 2.367% 0.79883 0.82249 43 12 2.174% 0.85871 0.88043 46 15 2.219% 0.82250 0.84467 44 11 1.993% 0.88044 0.90036 47 14 2.071% 0.84468 0.86538 45 10 1.812% 0.90037 0.91848 48 13 1.923% 0.86539 0.88462 46 9 1.630% 0.91849 0.93478 49 12 1.775% 0.88463 0.90237 47 8 1.449% 0.93479 0.94928 50 11 1.627% 0.90238 0.91864 48 7 1.268% 0.94929 0.96196 51 10 1.479% 0.91865 0.93343 52 9 1.331% 0.93344 0.94675 49 6 1.087% 0.96197 0.97283 53 8 1.183% 0.94676 0.95858 50 5 0.906% 0.97284 0.98188 54 7 1.036% 0.95859 0.96893 51 4 0.725% 0.98189 0.98913 55 6 0.888% 0.96894 0.97781 52 3 0.543% 0.98914 0.99457 56 5 0.740% 0.97782 0.98521 53 2 0.362% 0.99458 0.99819 57 4 0.592% 0.98522 0.99112 54 1 0.181% 0.99820 1.00000 58 3 0.444% 0.99113 0.99556 59 2 0.296% 0.99557 0.99852 60 1 0.148% 0.99853 1.00000

26

EVENT REPORT: CHICAGO TARDIS 2010 CONVENTION

On 26 through 28 November 2010, members of our DDWRPG writing staff at‐ tended the Chicago TARDIS Doctor Who con‐ vention. As a few may know, some of your DDWRPG staff are on the convention’s primary staff, so we actually showed up two days early for the convention setup (beginning Wednes‐ day, 24 November 2010). Our first two days, including Thanksgiv‐ (Left) THE CALM BEFORE THE ON‐COMING STORM ing Day, were spent setting up and preparing (Right) THURSDAY’S PRE‐REGISTRATION LINE (THANKSGIVING DAY!) for the convention itself. The staff worked hard setting up pipe and drape, moving chairs, run‐ ning audio and video cables, wiring the video rooms, preparing microphones and video pro‐ jectors as well as closed circuit TV feeds, and setting up the backstage area for the conven‐ tion guests. Generally our crew made sure that main events and celebrity guest panels at the convention run smoothly. As someone said, “Main programming is the heart of the con” and the hard work of the crew there helped get it all ready for the attendees that would be de‐ scending on the Westin Hotel in Lombard, Illi‐ nois for the weekend. On Thursday evening, registration was opened for those fans who arrived early on Thanksgiving Day to check into the hotel. (Left) DENNIS SHOWING HIS GAFFER’S TAPE WORK (17 CABLES IN 1 RUN) (Right) NICK IN THE OBLIGATORY TARDIS PHOTO IN THE MAIN BALLROOM About one hundred devotees arrived early to ensure that they had their registrations in hand for the convention that would start the next day at 10am. After registration on Thursday evening, con‐goers with all‐access member‐ ships joined the staff in a special pre‐ convention pizza party that welcomed the guests to the convention. Our group had a chance to talk with Gareth David‐Lloyd (Ianto in Torchwood), Louise Jameson (Leela in Doctor Who), and Gary Russell (BBC script editor and (Left) JOHN, ROB, AND MIKE PREPARE TECHWORLD (Right) STEVE SETTING UP BACKSTAGE IN MAIN PROGRAMMING

27

WHO RPG v2.0 GETS BBC GREEN LIGHT

In our conversation with Gary Russell at the Chicago TARDIS convention, he mentioned that he had reviewed the updated Matt Smith 11th Doctor version of the Doctor Who— Adventures in Time and Space RPG for Cubicle 7 (Gary is in charge of reviewing all Doctor Who materials licensed by the BBC). We are happy to report that he said he felt it was excellent and it was given approval to move forward. Tight lipped about the product itself, Gary Russell did let us know that the new primary game book was significantly different from the first edition, making it a worthwhile buy for those fans who had already purchased the Tennant covered version of the game. He also confirmed that the Defenders of the Earth and Time Travel‐ lers Companion, supplements already announced by Cubicle 7, had been given the green light in NICK, GARY RUSSELL, MIKE AND ROB TALKING AT THE RECEPTION regards to review from the Beeb. When asked about the license of the RPG product line reviewer) all of whom approached us for pleasant product to concentrate on current Doctor Who, conversations about their flights, their work (our video watch‐ Gary confirmed that the BBC has allowed some ing fun), shopping plans, and impressions of America. The necessary references to the classic series to re‐ party was low key and enjoyable for all of those in attendance. main intact in the RPG books (such as a reference It might be a hefty price tag to have an all‐access or reserved to the Mondas/Telos Cybermen in the Aliens and membership, but for a chance to get one‐on‐one time with Creatures supplement). In relation to this, he felt guests in such an intimate setting is what such special member‐ that the BBC was becoming more and more open ships are for. For Doctor Who fans looking for a unique and to the idea of expanding the current scope of unforgettable experience, these enhanced convention mem‐ Doctor Who to include the original series, as eve‐ berships are worth every cent. ryone is now looking at the two television pro‐ Friday saw the convention officially open, and after a ductions as one continuous series and a single few quick corrections by the staff, everything started up with‐ brand. He said it could be possible that we might eventually see some classic Doctor Who find its way into the game and supplements. Gary also told us that, not being a gamer himself, he did not understand a word of what was being talked about in the book (game wise). We shared a laugh at our commitment to gaming and his lack of interest in it as a hobby for him‐ self. Talking about the creative process, Gary ex‐ plained that much of his creativity and writing was a solo endeavor. We compared that with our collective interest in creating Doctor Who gaming adventures in a group atmosphere. Two different approaches to creative story‐telling. We are excited about this great news in regards to the new products for Cubicle 7’s Doc‐ tor Who Role‐Playing Game, and encourage our “HAVE WE GOT A TELEVISION, THEN?” PANEL readers to support them. IN ALT.ALT.PROGRAMMING

28

LOUISE JAMESON AND FRAZER HINES (WITH MODERATOR) THE BIG FINISH DOCTOR WHO AUDIO PANEL ON THE MAIN STAGE FRIDAY AFTERNOON

out a hitch. The “Fire Up” panel, hosted by Jennifer Kelley and Steve Hill, was well attended and featured the ever popular speak‐in‐a‐cyber ‐voice event, as well as other mini‐contests that let attendees win prizes, such as advanced copies of writer Ben Aaronovitch’s new book Midnight Riot. A panel on the Big Finish line of Doctor Who audios started off main programming, to include an exclusive trailer for the Gallifrey line of audios which is starting a 4th audio season. A panel with Rob Shear‐ man and Toby Hadoke on their new book Running through Corridors followed, before the first of the main guests took to the stage. Louise PHOTO LINE FOR GARETH DAVID‐LLOYD Jameson, who played the 4th Doctor’s companion Leela, and Frazer Hines, the 2nd Doctor’s Scottish companion, entertained the crowd with their stories of filming the series, and the behind the scenes anec‐ dotes. Hines shared a funny moment of filming with Patrick Troughton when a director had Troughton stand still at the back of a scene. Fra‐ zer was instructed to move forward in shot towards a desk. Frazer stepped forward and was instructed to get closer and closer to the desk in the fore of the camera shot. Eventually Fraser was stuck and told the director, “I can’t move forward any more because I’m already (Above) MAIN PROGRAMMING’S CROWD resting my wedding tackle on the desk” to which Troughton quickly (Below) A VICTORY DALEK added from the back of the set “Me too!” A panel that was full of wonderful stories. If asked if they would return to the current series of Doctor Who, both Louise and Frazer were quick to answer in unison “In a heartbeat!” which was greeted with a roar of applause from the crowd. The following panel featured Kai Own and Gareth David‐Lloyd from the series Torchwood, who played the characters of Rhys and Ianto respectively. The two actors created one of the most light hearted and laughter filled rooms of the convention as joke after joke flew from their mouths. Kai repeatedly reinforced the point that Ianto “is dead!” as fans would ask Gareth questions about possibly returning to the series, which was regularly greeted with roars of laughter. When asked by the crowd if Rhys character would be a stay at home

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KAI OWEN AND GARETH DAVID‐LLOYD OF TORCHWOOD father, Gareth jumped into Kai’s arms and sucked his thumb like an infant to even harder audience laughter and a lighting strike of camera flashes as the pair hammed up the moment for the crowd. Gareth also notably commented on the Ianto memorial in Cardiff Bay and was amazed at the outpouring of sympathy for his character. He admitted to visiting the site, and the people there not even noticing that they were standing right next to Ianto himself! Meanwhile, the dealer’s room at the convention was well stocked with videos, books, comics, action figures, posters, and even licensed costumes from the show. The Cubicle 7 Doctor Who Role‐Playing Game was on sale with multiple copies available for the fans that were there. Interesting to us, it was the first time that we had seen that some of the items that were produced for the new series that featured the Ninth or Tenth Doctor were no longer

THREE PHOTOS OF THE WELL STOCKED CHICAGO TARDIS DEALERS ROOM

30 available. After years of easily being able to find items that featured Christopher Eccleston, it was near impossible for fellow RPG gamers Jay and Christa Tozer who were in attendance. This was the first time that we have seen items from the newest series of the show become some‐ what rare. Apparently the collector’s mar‐ ket has already hit the new product lines. The last of the Doctor Who‐Short Trips (Left) DOCTOR WHO WRITER AND SCRIPT EDITOR TERRANCE DICKS book series, number 29 which is a reprint (Right) THE HARD‐WORKING LADIES AT REGISTRATION of stories from earlier books and is subti‐ tled “How the Doctor Changed My Life”, is selling for $350 a copy on the low end be‐ cause it was the last of the series and also had a low print run. The book is not even one year old! The oldest item we saw in the dealers room was a copy of The Dalek Book from the 1960s. It was the lone item from that era we saw in the dealers room and it was selling for the very reasonable (Left) JASON HAIGH‐ELLERY AND NICK BRIGGS IN AN INTIMATE PANEL price of $65. The popularity of the show (Right) THE COSTUMING PANEL has really caught on and is reflected by the lack of items from the original series that were available. Those items have been bought up by the new wave of fans that have entered the fandom. Terrance Dicks, Doctor Who writer and script editor was on the main stage to talk about his contributions to the series. As the script editor during many of the years of the third and fourth Doctors he greatly influenced the show during some of its most popular years. He is also the author of many of the Doctor Who noveli‐ zations. When asked what his favorite Doctor Who serial was he quickly an‐ swered, “The Five Doctors” and explained that it included all the Doctors and that he also wrote it. He also took the time to ex‐ plain how he created the Doctor’s Moriar‐ ity‐like nemesis the Master. (Above) TOMMY KNIGHT INTERVIEWED BY DR. ARNOLD BLUMBERG The Sarah Jane Adventures’ charac‐ (Below, Left) ALT.ALT.PROGRAMMING; (Below, Right) ROB RUNNING SOUND ter of Luke took the stage next in the form of actor Tommy Knight who proved to be well spoken and intelligent. Tommy shared some great stories from the set of his show and let the audience know that the K‐9 that is used in The Sarah Jane Ad‐ ventures is in fact the refurbished original and that Matt Irvine still controls the robot

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dog. Apparently the prop is quite fragile and still struggles to move around if there are small rocks in the way and like. Asked if he has any items from on the set of the show, he admitted to having numerous Bubble Shock cans and also t‐shirts from the series. In a great line that he shared with the crowd, Tommy commented about the monsters the group sometimes face ,“I don’t know how the Slitheen have advanced technology when they don’t even have opposable thumbs!” Especially cute were the little kids that stepped up and asked questions, really showing how popular the Sarah Jane Adven‐ tures show is with that younger age group. (Left) JOHN UPDATING THE CHICAGO TARDIS FACEBOOK PAGE IN REAL TIME As a young 17 year old, Tommy Knight was AS JENNIFER ADAMS KELLEY PREPARES NOTES FOR THE NEXT PANEL interesting and articulate and a plus to the (Right) ANOTHER STYLE OF DALEK ON DISPLAY convention circuit. The “A Life In Theatre” panel fea‐ tured most of the convention guests that worked on the stage including many of the main guests. Stories of stage‐life abounded. It was a nice change moving away from the series for a while, and hearing about the work of many of the group. Rob Shearman revealed that he has written over 60 plays, and Ian McNeice commented that while he had played Winston Churchill on Doctor Who, Nick Briggs had done the voice of Winston Churchill in a Doctor Who play. All of these panels, as well as those in the additional panel rooms of Alt.Programming and Alt.Alt.Programming A GIRL DRESSED AS A TARDIS FACES DOWN THE BLACK DALEK

THE “A LIFE IN THEATRE” PANEL FEATURING LAURA DODDINGTON, JASON HAIGH‐ELLORY, ROBERT SHEARMAN, IAN McNEICE, NICK BRIGGS (in red), LOUISE JAMESON, FRAZER HINES, AND TOBY HADOKE

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THE CROWD AT OPENING CEREMONIES THE GUESTS ARRIVING BACKSTAGE TO BE INTRODUCED

NICK BRIGGS MARCHED IN BY A DALEK THE GUESTS ON STAGE FOR OPENING CEREMONIES happened before the main Opening Ceremonies that were actually planned for Friday evening at 6pm, once most convention attendees had arrived. Opening Ceremonies itself were quite the event. Over 300 people were in the main pro‐ gramming ballroom for the introduc‐ tion of the guests who were on hand for their introductions. The room filled with energy as a special Doctor Who theme was played for the crowd. The theme had been written just for the convention by some of DDWRPG’s contributors and it was a huge hit, as the crowd clapped along to the theme as lights flashed on stage predicting the arrival of the guests. Jennifer Adams Kelley intro‐ ALL THE GUESTS TOGETHER

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THE CROWD PRESS FORWARD FOR PHOTOS...... OF ALL THE GUESTS ASSEMBLED ON STAGE duced each guest to the stage, and each had a chance to welcome the crowd and wish everyone a great conven‐ tion. With all the guests introduced, the convention had a photo opportunity for the fans. The crowd pressed forward to get the coveted photo of all the group to‐ gether. A great moment, and one of the hallmarks of the Chicago TARDIS convention. We give a shout out to Crystal Taylor who was at the opening ceremonies and whom we helped take a picture of her on stage with a Dalek! Cheers and we hope you enjoyed the convention weekend! Seeing fans enjoy these great moments rule! Late evening programming included a track of panels just for adults such as the “No Sex Please, I’m a Time Lord” and “The Good The Bad, and the Crack!fic.” The evening featured fan video adventures and parodies as well as the annual performance of Mysterious Theater THE “NO SEX PLEASE, I’M A TIME LORD” PANEL ON FAN FICTION 337. MT337 chooses a Doctor Who episode and actors make fun of the episode just like in Mystery Science

MYSTERIOUS THEATER 337 AS THE CROWD SEES IT BEHIND THE SCREEN AT MT337

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THE “CHICKS DIG TIME LORDS” PANEL

Theater 3000. This year’s offering was “Robot” which was written by con guest Terrance Dicks and was lovingly shadowcast by Rob Warnock, Arnold Blum‐ berg, Shaun Lyon, and Seven W. Hill. The show was very well received by the audience which is one of the reasons that MT337 has gathered such a follow‐ ing at Doctor Who conventions. Saturday morning began with the “Chicks Dig Time Lords” panel by the authors of the book (which we reviewed in issue #4) taking the Westin Ball‐ room stage to talk about their effort. The panel covered many different view‐ points of feminine interest in the show. Interestingly, many of the conversa‐ tions in regards to this book always seem to touch on sexuality and fan fictions ROB SHEARMAN ONE‐ON‐ONE that pairs the Doctor with various companions, characters, etc. Obviously, a book about gender will touch on sexuality but it is interesting that these female led panels often turn into conversations about fantasies and sex (much more than male led panels ever do). This open conversation about intimate interests is something that is important and welcomed in the genre scene, but is best saved for the adult track evening sessions. Still well worth attending as a panel. Side panels in alternate programming panels included one‐on‐one ses‐ sions with writers such as Rob Shearman, Simon Guerrier, Terrance Dicks and others. With the masquerade on Saturday night, more costumed fans were PHOTOS OF A SYCORAX COSTUME

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IAN McNEICE ON STAGE GARY RUSSELL AND TOMMY KNIGHT FROM SARAH JANE

walking around on Saturday in their cosplay outfits. People were taking many pictures of the various cos‐ tumed fans that populated the convention. The dealers room also featured the alt.autographs line allowing the con attendees to get autographs from various writers on the books that they were being sold in the dealer’s room. This gave many people an extra chance to get a quick autograph. Other major panels on the day included Ian McNeice on stage, who was menaced by the shadow of a Dalek on the screen behind him during his panel. Also Gary Russell, who is the story editor, and Tommy Knight were on stage talking about The Sarah Jane Adventures GARY CALLING OUT TOMMY ON TAKING PROPS FROM THE SHOW series. Tommy Knight, it was revealed by Gary, is fa‐ mous for getting into trouble on set, and also being a bit hyper and excited. Tommy admitted to loving sugar, and told the audience he really enjoyed Lucky Charms cereal, which they do not have in the UK! Tommy also copped to being a big video gamer, especially loving HALO and Guitar Hero. This passion of his was one of the reasons that “Warriors of the Kudlack” was his favor‐ ite The Sarah Jane Adventures episode. Having a chance to ask him if he tabletop games, he said that he mostly sticks with video console games but has recently started enjoying some on‐line MMORPG games too. (Above) ARCHIVING PANEL; (Below) MASQUERADE BACKSTAGE Another event was a panel on archiving which discussed the preservation of Doctor Who materials in archives around the USA and UK. Interestingly one of the panelists had worked at the BBC Archives and talked a small bit about their holdings. Most of the discussion centered on the difficulties of preserving items and re‐ alia from television programs and the lack of funding for such projects in both the academic and private archives. Late Saturday afternoon featured more panels as well as the preparation for the evening’s Masquerade.

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NICK (Left) AND JACK (Right) AT THE DOCTOR WHO ROLE‐PLAYING PANEL

As Cosplayers prepared for the show, some of the staff and writers for DDWRPG prepared for their panel that was called “So You Want To Role‐Play A Time Lord?” Nick Seidler and Jack Kessler gave a panel specifically on the history of and mechanics used in the various Doctor Who Role‐Playing games. The panel covered the FASA game from the 1980s, Virgin Publishing’s Time Lord game, and of course the new Cubicle 7 Doctor Who‐Adventures in Time and Space: The Roleplaying Game. With a strong attendance of 30 people at the panel, along with various other people who stopped in and listened briefly, it was nice to see interest in table top gaming in Doctor Who fandom growing. The presenters gave an overview of the variously released games as well as how the general game mechanics dif‐ fered from game to game. As the Cubicle 7 game was the most recent release, and the crowd was interested in un‐ derstanding the product, a fair amount of time was spent explaining the game and showing everyone the contents of the core rules box set as well as the released supplements (The Gamemaster’s Screen and the Aliens and Crea‐ tures box set). Other points of discussion included different types of campaigns that can be played with a Doctor Who RPG as well as general discussions of the adaptability of the games to various eras of the Whoniverse as well as adapting Big Finish audio characters to the game. Nick had a particularly humorous moment when he confused Charlie Pollard, of Big Finish’s Eight Doctor’s audios, with Vicky Pollard, the Chav teenage girl from the comedy series Little Britain. However, the point was made that the game allows either to be adapted for play if someone wishes to. That is the strength of the game. Jack took the time to explain the details of the game’s success/failure me‐ chanic and the panel ended with various questions and tips on how to run a successful module or campaign within the system. Overall the crowd was very interested in the possibilities of table top gaming with the good Doctor and

JACK SHOWS OFF THE CUBICLE 7 GAME’S GAMEMASTER’S SCREEN PART OF THE RPG PANEL’S AUDIENCE

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his friends, and numerous people commented about their desire to buy the game and start up their own adventure series. Participants at the game were given handouts of information on the various RPGs and also info on where they can be purchased. At the end of the panel, those in attendance were invited to participate in a module run with the Cubicle 7 game rules. Jack Kessler took the reigns as Game Master as a number of panel attendees enjoyed a module after the panel. For more information on the two hour adventure, see the sidebar below. Saturday evening continued with the annual masquerade contest which is one of the best attended events each year at the convention. Numerous fans NICK TALKS ABOUT THE BOX SET’S CONTENTS came in costume, and a number of them did skits or

CUBICLE 7 DOCTOR WHO RPG MODULE RUN AT CHICAGO TARDIS

After the main Doctor Who Role‐Playing Gaming panel, Jack Kessler ran a game of Cubicle 7’s Doctor Who RPG, while Nick took photos for this article and provided occasional sound effects for the adventure. A number of panel attendees stayed to play the module which featured the numer‐ ous characters being drawn from their place in space to another where sci‐ entists are working on a “Causality Bowl.” This causality experiment has drawn in the various characters, as well as monsters to the same place in space and time. The characters had to work together to save the day and return themselves back to their proper places in space‐time. Players at the game included Watson Ladd, Ana Maria Meler, Nick Van Dorpe, Todd Renies, Lewis Miller, Mike McNamara and Aiden Mullins‐Pearson. Also in attendance were numerous convention attendees who stopped in at the game and watched the adventure unfold like a story. With this panel and module, this is the second year in a row (after Nick’s module in 2009) that the Chicago TARDIS has had a significant Doctor Who RPG gaming presence and module that was run. The DDWRPG staff are happy to have brought Doctor Who table‐top gaming to the convention. WATSON ROLLS A SUCCESS

JACK GAME MASTERING THE MODULE THE PLAYERS INVESTIGATE THE CORRIDORS IN THE GAME

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(Above Left) IAN McNEICE JOINED THE TIMELORDS TO JUDGE THE MASQUERADE; (Other Photos) MASQUERADE MOMENTS

sang songs that accompanied their entries. The current series of Doctor Who and Torchwood were heavily repre‐ sented at the masquerade, but so was the classic series and a few other sci‐fi series as well. There was even a me‐ chanical K‐9 that made an appearance on stage. This year’s masquerade was judged by Ian McNeice who joined the other judges who were all dressed as Time Lords. As the judges retired to deliberate the winners, Mike Olsen hosed

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the yearly Match Game contest in which players have to try to match the answers to a phrase that the ‘celebrity’ panel has chosen to finish the same phrase. Doctor Who comic book writer Tony Lee joined members of the staff as a celebrity judge for this year’s game which brought many laughs to the assembled audience. After Match Game, the judges returned to give awards to the various contestants that had won prizes in the masquerade. Numerous costumes were singled out for recognition in different categories. The Best‐In‐Show prize went to a pair of girls who were dressed as a Dalek and as the TARDIS. As per our report in Issue #4, girls dressing as Daleks are as popular as ever, even winning this year’s Chicago TARDIS masquerade. After the masquerade, the attendees of the con‐ vention were treated to Toby Hadoke’s (said “Haddock”, like the fish) one man comedic stage play Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf. The show which Toby has toured through the UK pulled in the largest single event atten‐ dance of the convention as 370 people watched his per‐ formance as he spoke of his interest in fandom and the

(Top Left) THE MATCH GAME CONTEST HOSTED BY MIKE OLSEN (Left) VARIOUS MASQUERADE SHOW WINNERS (Below) THE BEST‐IN‐SHOW DALEK AND TARDIS GIRL COSTUMES

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TOBY HODOKE GETS A STANDING OVATION FOR HIS “MOTHS ATE MY DOCTOR WHO SCARF” PERFORMANCE impact it has had on his family. While including elements and jokes about Doctor Who, the play really is universal in its appeal and has an excel‐ lent emotional draw. The audience responded well to the show, and at the end of the perform‐ ance Hadoke was greeted with a standing ova‐ tion from the crowd and welcomed back to stage with thunderous applause. With the end of the performance, Saturday’s events came to a close and fans retired to room parties and hotel hall‐ ways to relax and enjoy themselves for the eve‐ ning. As the main programming hall cleared, some of the guests such as Dr. Arnold Blumberg and Shaun Lyon came over and visited the stage crew in tech‐world (the affectionate name for the raised area where all the video and audio is DON’T PUNCH THE LOYHARGIL (TECH‐WORLD’S MASCOT) ! run from at the side of the stage). The pair came to admire the crew’s Loyhargil, a small rubber brain that the crew used for a mascot during the convention (and named after the brain computer in “Time and the Rani”). The little brain was diffi‐ cult not to touch by everyone who walked past it. A running joke at the end of the evening was “Don’t punch the Loyhargil” as everyone would touch or flatten it and then it would return to its original shape. On Sunday the convention entered its last full day, with programming beginning in the main panel room at 10am. A brunch that featured the guests was held as a special event (in which all‐ access and reserve membership attendees could go to, as well as people who bought special tick‐ ets). Breakfast included fruit, eggs, bacon, hash

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(Above) TOMMY KNIGHT SOCIALIZING DURING THE SUNDAY BRUNCH browns, muffins as well as coffee and (Below) FRAZER HINES AND TOBY HADOKE JOKE AROUND AT THE BRUNCH juice. Convention goers at the event had a chance to share brunch with the guests, and after being seated with one guest, after a while the guests would rotate allowing people to meet more of the actors up close and in a very personal way. The event is highly recommended if one has the opportu‐ nity to attend. Other panels that were fea‐ tured on Sunday morning included “Torchwood in a Post‐Children of Earth World”, a panel that looked at the upcoming Torchwood: New Earth series. It was revealed that the new Torchwood series would be one con‐ nected series, like “Children of Earth”, but made up of 10 parts. Kai Owen also confirmed at a panel later in the day on Sunday that he would be in the

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LOUISE JAMESON AND FRAZER HINES’ TALK ABOUT CLASSIC DOCTOR WHO series and that his character was for sure written into the first episode of the series. A panel on how to construct your own Time Lord collar and also a panel called “Fans Gone Wild” were highlights of Sunday morning. Kai Owen and Gareth David‐Lloyd again took the stage as part of their humorous and out going double act as they talked about the production of Torchwood. Afterwards, Louise Jameson and Frazer Hines also appeared on stage as they recalled their time on the time travel show that helped launch their careers. Another panel that was held at the same time was called “Music of the Spheres” with Rob Warnock and Dr. Phil Serna which was a panel about the music in Doctor Who. This panel was actually recorded for the Adventures in Time, Space and Music pod‐ cast that should soon be found on‐line at http://adventuresintimespaceandmusic.phillipwserna.com/ . The panel covered the various theme tunes used for the series as well as the development of the various incidental music that was featured. The presenters used audio clips to demonstrate their points and it was a rather interesting discussion. Other panels that drew a crowd included one called “The Crafty Whovian Showcase” in which the panelists shared various arts and crafts related projects from Doctor Who and other sci‐fi shows. TARDIS blankets, knit scarfs, plush Daleks, costumes and dolls were all various items that were talked about in the panel. The convention team wel‐ comed attendees to the Con talk back panel in which con goers could give their input into how the event could be improved or changed for the future. Most of the people attending the session shared that they really enjoyed the convention and that there were only minor improvements that could be made (such as better line management in

THE CRAFTY WHOVIAN SHOWCASE THE CON TALK BACK WITH THE ORGANIZERS

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THE GUESTS ASSEMBLED AT CLOSING CEREMONIES the alt.autographs line and a few other suggestions. The convention staff listened, took note, and would work on those improvements for the next convention, which will be held in one year’s time again. The final official event of the convention was the Closing Ceremonies event. Starting with the variation on the Doctor Who theme that was created for the convention, the video screen flashed photos of the various guests and attendees as everyone had a chance to look back and remember the weekend. The guests were brought out one at a time and gave some parting words, and the whole group was lined up one more time so that the con go‐ers could snap a photo of the assembled group, which many of those in attendance did. And with the guests’ farewells, so ended the official portion of the Chicago TARDIS 2010 Convention. The staff then cleared the room and did the thankless task of tearing down the main programming, video,

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THE STAFF CONVENTION AFTER‐PARTY GARY RUSSELL PLAYING THE “WHO‐LOSE‐OR‐DRAW” GAME

and other rooms and packing away all of the equipment and gear that had been used for the event. When this was completed, the staff members were able to go to an after‐convention pizza party with the guests as a thank you for their hard work. One of the highlights of the af‐ ter‐party is the annual Who‐Lose‐Or‐ Draw game (a variation of Win‐Lose‐Or ‐Draw, but with all Doctor Who refer‐ ences). Over the years many different players have been a part of the event, and many of the guests such as Colin Baker, Anneke Wills, and Nick Briggs have joined in on the annual games. This year Gary Russell, Ian McNeice, IAN McNEICE JOINING THE ANNUAL GAME and Tommy Night join in the game with the staff members . Who‐Lose‐Or ‐Draw is one of those events that eve‐ ryone looks forward to at the end of the convention because it is simply a great relaxing and social time. And of course, it’s a game and therefore wor‐ thy of us to report in our ‘zine. Overall the Chicago TARDIS 2010 convention was a roaring success for the attendees that enjoyed them‐ selves to the staff that made it happen. With various games being played and talked about it is also one that we rec‐ ommend that Whovian gamers con‐ sider attending. We look forward to next year’s convention, and are sure that there will be more gaming events RUTH ANN WATCHING TOMMY KNIGHT’S DRAWING for those who are interested.

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MODULE: PLANET OF THE BROKEN

“Planet of the Broken” is a Doctor Who adventure module set on the planet Deltron in 3017CE. This adventure module can be run with either a group featuring the Doctor or another group of time travelling players. “Planet of the Broken” was the Doctor Who RPG module that was run for attendees at the Chicago TARDIS 2009 Convention [Played as DDWRPG Campaign module #4260 and also replayed as #4269 “The Golden Masters”].

The TARDIS lands on the planet Deltron in the year 3017CE, after the TARDIS crew have detected an un‐ usual technology reading that does not seem to be accurate for the time and place of Deltron. As the crew exit the ship, they find a warm planet that is covered in metal, plastic and junk. The planet Deltron is the dumping ground for old robots, Andys (short for Androids), technology, space‐ ships, and technological junk. The planet’s surface is completely lit‐ tered with piles of junk creating a labyrinth on the planet.

THE ROBOT GRAVEYARD As the crew search through the walls and piles of junk, charac‐ ters will have to avoid being cut by rusty junk and may need medical help to prevent getting seriously injured. The area is full of mechani‐ cal equipment and at least half or more of the junk is made up of dis‐ carded android and robot parts. Mechanical arms, legs, heads, and other body parts litter the other rusting bits of technology in every THE JUNK LABYRINTH OF DELTRON direction, piled high as walls around the characters. As players investigate the area and look around, they may make awareness or intuition rolls. If they make their rolls, they will feel as if the junk is looking at them or sometimes even moving. Char‐ acters that make a second successful roll will realize that there is a working robot trapped under a pile of junk that is quietly watching the group. The robot looks like a large multi‐meter device and if someone calls out to it, the robot (named Multi‐meter‐bot) will stop struggling and try not to be noticed. Aware players will notice that the needle on the gauge on the robot’s chest will continue to move and if players ap‐ proach the robot the needle will move up and up reveling more of a charge (and the fact that the root is more and more scared). MULTI‐METER‐BOT IN THE LABYRINTH If the players approach Multi‐meter‐bot, he will suddenly acti‐ vate and beg for mercy to not be harmed in a squeaky high voice. Multi‐meter‐bot will squirm and move and say things like “The flesh can not be trusted”, “Please do not junk me, Andys have feelings too!”, and “Please do not harm or deactivate me as you have so many of my kin. Andys are now free of the orders of flesh‐kind” Players with good negotiation and diplomacy skills will be able to calm the robot down and try to explain that they have no desire to harm the robot. The players should free the robot from the junk that has fallen on him. Once free. The crew can interact with Multi‐meter‐bot and if they question him will learn that there are other robots here on Deltron and that they are trying to repair themselves from the parts on the planet.

WE DON’T ALLOW THEIR KIND HERE Just as the players are interacting with Multi‐meter‐bot a heav‐ ier gruff combat style robot (named Brom‐bot) will crash onto the scene. The Brom‐bot will explain in a gruff voice “Multi‐meter‐bot is speaking to flesh‐kind! Is Multi‐meter‐bot telling them of the secret of BROM‐BOT

46 sanctuary? Multi‐meter‐bot must answer to the judgment! It is the rule set from the Golden Masters” As the Multi‐meter‐bot huddles and shakes with fear, the Brom‐bot will then approach the Multi‐meter‐bot and point his arm‐like weapons at it and order “Return to Sanctuary, while I deal with these flesh sacks to protect the secret!” Players who are quick or making the proper rolls will realize that they can also negotiate with Brom‐bot. If they argue that they deserve judgment too before they are harmed, Brom‐bot will order them to sanctuary as well to stand judgment. If the characters plead for mercy, Brom‐bot will say, “You must leave this world, for the Golden Masters have taught us of the dangers of flesh‐kind. Leave now and you will not be harmed.” If the players prom‐ ise to do so, Brom‐bot will watch them leave and then be on his way. Obviously, if the players choose to confront the heavily armed robot they are in for a fight. Most players will avoid the confrontation, and then follow on to where the robots themselves might be headed. Eventually the players will find themselves near the robots’ home: sanctuary.

ENCOUNTER IN SANCTUARY As the players approach, they will find that the robots have cre‐ ated a small society for themselves. Junk has been assembled, welded and put together to create a small junk‐yard city for the robots, named Sanctuary. Many different styles of robots and androids, all re‐ assembled and repaired from the junk found on the planet are moving around this metallic city. If the players fail their stealth rolls, the an‐ droids will spot them and pull them to the center of the town (at which time they will see the following encounter unfold as they are prison‐ ers), but otherwise, the players will watch as Brom‐bot returns Multi‐ meter‐bot to town and accuses the smaller robot of interacting with flesh‐kind. A number of other androids and robots will gather as Brom‐ bot makes the accusations. The players will see an android with the head of Abraham Lincoln (named Honest Andy) come to the center of the town square where the altercation is taking place. Players with skills in sociology will notice that the Honesty Andy robot seems to be respected and is the leader of this group. Honest Andy formally starts a trial based on the law of rules set forward by the Golden Masters. The Brom‐bot will formally address Honest Andy and explain that the Multi‐meter‐bot was interacting with flesh‐kind (people), which goes against their code. Honest Andy will allow Multi‐meter Bot to defend himself, to which the small bot replies “I only saw the flesh kind here, I did not tell them about Sanctuary or the Golden Masters.” Brom‐bot will say he saw the flesh‐kind interact with the robot. The trial goes on in similar fashion and if no one defends the Multi‐meter‐ bot, he will be sentenced to deactivation. If the players realize and chime in to the situation (either by breaking cover if hidden, or speaking up if they are captured) they can influence the trial and help the innocent Multi‐meter‐bot. They can speak up and admit that the robot was not trying to help them. Any HONEST ANDY THE ANDROID help that the characters give will be seen as suspect, and will bring jeers from half the robots who call them “flesh‐kind oppressors” and “those who made us to serve them” (it will be even worse if some of the players are cybernetic, as the robots will angrily accuse those char‐ acters of being “wannabees” or “gross half‐breeds”). However, Hon‐ est Andy will be fair and allow any character testimony. After the tes‐ timony is heard from both sides, Honest Andy will call for a vote saying “All Andys have the right to their destiny, all Andys have a right to vote”. Each of the Andys (Androids) will then raise their hands as to THE OTHER BOTS PARTICIPATE IN THE VOTE

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Multi‐meter‐bots fate. The GM should decide on the odds by how the characters may have helped the case or not (even if it put the players in danger). The result of the vote will stand. If the vote is guilty, Multi‐meter‐bot will be deactivated (to the horror of some of the robots present) and if he is voted not‐guilty the small robot will be set free, and Brom‐bot will accept the decision. After the vote and sentence being carried out, Honesty Andy will turn his attention to the players...

ANOTHER TRIAL FOR THE ANDYS Honest Andy will then say that the rules are that flesh‐kind are not allowed in sanctuary, and that the usual penalty for this is death. The players then find themselves on trial, and surrounded by hundreds of robots. How‐ ever, if the players supported the innocence of Multi‐meter‐bot, Honest Andy will point this out to the others and in turn Multi‐meter‐bot will also defend the characters. Even Brom‐bot will admit that the characters did not try to harm him (unless they did get involved in an altercation). The rules are that Sanctuary is for non‐flesh‐kind only. As the players try to talk their way out of the situation, the fact that the rule that no flesh‐kind can be in Sanctuary did not come from the Andys themselves but from the mysterious Golden Masters that dictated that rule. Honesty Andy will point out that the Golden Masters were the ones that first assembled him and the other Andys and set the robots to the task of rebuilding themselves and creating their new society in Sanctuary. As the players defend themselves, Honest Andy will speak more and more about the Golden Masters. Players can make awareness roles if they do not catch on, but should question the freedom that the Andys have as a people, if they must follow the rules and ideas of the Golden Masters alone. Some robots will argue that the Golden Masters simply give them the freedom that the flesh‐kind (humans) never did. The players can make the argument that the Golden Masters have just replaced the flesh‐kind with their own rules. Honest Andy will suggest that the TARDIS crew be taken to see the Golden Masters but only so long as the other androids vote to do so.

THE GOLDEN MASTERS The players, escorted by Honest Andy, Brom‐Bot, Multi‐meter‐bot and other robots will go to the hall of the Golden Masters deeper in the city of Sanctuary. Players with skills in Astronautics or Space Vehicle operation will realize that they are inside a spaceship that is hidden under the junk that covers the planet Deltron. Once the players are led into the Golden Master’s lair, they will find themselves face‐to‐face with a squad of Daleks. If the players confront the Daleks directly, a battle will ensue and the androids will assist the Daleks. However, if the players remain calm, the following exchange occurs between the Daleks and the Andys. Honest Andy will ask the Daleks what to do with the flesh‐kind they have found, and explained that these flesh‐kind have helped the Andys and been fair. The Golden Masters will insist that the people be “Exterminated” regardless of cause. The Daleks will remind the Andys that “We have helped you and your brothers, so that you may rebuild yourselves to fight against your oppressors.” Players will realize that the Daleks are helping the Andys rebuild themselves so they can be used as an army to help the Daleks wipe out humans. If players have encountered the Daleks before, or if the players make mentality rolls to figure it out, they will realize that the Golden Masters are not robots themselves, but cyborgs—Dalek machines with Kaled mutants inside. This revelation will be repulsive to the Andys who will realize that the Daleks have been lying to them and using them as pawns. In this case the Andys will join the TARDIS crew in fighting the Daleks and putting an end to their plan. With the TARDIS crew’s flesh‐kind helping de‐ feat the Daleks and giving the Andy’s real inde‐ pendence, the crew forge real peace for the future of man and machine together. THE GOLDEN MASTERS REVEAL THEMSELVES

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GAME MASTERING TIPS: TIPS ON A LOOK AT GAME TIME MANAGEMENT SPEEDING UP A GAME

As with school or professional life, in order to fit all the things The following are a few tips that will that one wants to do into the day one has to become good at managing help GMs get a game moving when it is time. Making sure you get your work done, eat, sleep, and game all in running slow or getting bogged down. one day takes some planning. The same is true when making sure that ● Improve the odds that players need you can fit an adventure module into the amount of time slotted for in order to roll as success at a certain your game, and that you are pacing your adventure properly. task. Helping them get the dice rolls Every group starts this time management process by agreeing to they need moves the story forward. a start time to get together and an expected time when the game should end. This is often called “The Gamer’s Time Contract” ‐ the players have ● Explain more of what happens when committed to the game but for only this agreed upon period. That’s the you give the description of a success goal to shoot for, and as a Game Master you have the responsibility to rather than playing out the details of make the game fit this time slot. The players, and often their wives, each of the moments. Tell what hap‐ boyfriends, partners, or family are planning to hold you to that as much pens for that, and what would be the as possible. This is not an anti‐gaming thing, just the reality that every‐ next roll. By describing more of what one has other responsibilities and things they have to do. The key is to happens rather than taking player input plan that time. the game can be sped up. In previous articles in our ‘zine we have talked about including pre‐gaming session time. This means building time into your game slot ● Compress time. Rather than playing for the players to get settled in. This is usually a 30 minute endeavor. out what each player does, simply say, We have some players that come to our game sessions right when they “As you wait, three hours passes and expect us to start the game, but inevitably, this means we still need to now it is getting dark” or “As you are wait for them (and the rest of us who are welcoming and engaging exploring, you see that a number of them) to settle in. The rule is more accurately saying that it is 30 min‐ hours pass, and you discovered the fol‐ utes after your last player arrives. At gaming conventions and the like, lowing…” Don’t accept the player’s de‐ where players are ready to get into the game, I would say that this pe‐ tails of what they do if it’s unnecessary. riod is more compressed and lasts only about 15 minutes. But for regu‐ lar games, remind players of their expected arrival time or it will set your ● Skip a scene if it is unnecessary to the start time back. plot. GMs often want to add extra en‐ Often, modules are expected to last the given amount of time counters to give flavor to their world, that most players have committed to for the game. At game conven‐ but when running short on time, cut out tions like GenCon, an RPG game slot is 4 hours long. That means you the unnecessary scenes. really have 3 hours and 45 minute slots, as the players for the next game ● Skip unnecessary dice rolls, such as initiative (and simply do turns around the table). Likewise, rather than giving Intuition or Awareness rolls, simply tell the players what they see or find.

● Skip unnecessary description. While GMs often like to flavor their language with details (ex. “The hardened jawed policeman in the black uniform and shiny badge grimaces at you and raises his heavy doubled barreled blaster in your direction”), when in a time jam just keep it simple (“The angry cop points his gun at you”).

“GAME MASTER TIME MANAGEMENT IS ESSENTIAL!” (continued next page)

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(continued from previous page) will arrive a bit early, and you are instructed to finish in time for your players to get to their ● As long as you are a good enough GM next games. Add the 15 minute get‐to‐know‐ so that they players do not notice, you period and that means that at gaming move the plot in the direction of the conventions the actual game time is expected solution regardless of the dice rolls. to be between 3 and 3½ hours long. Our Players do not know the outcome of an DDWRPG group sessions average about 5 action whether success or failure. (ex. hours of game time per session. So when we Success: “You shoot your gun and hit slot time for our games, we set aside 6 hours. the Dalek which is then incapacitated”; 30 minutes to wind up, 5 hours game time, ex. Failure: “You miss the Dalek, and hit and 30 minutes or so post‐game time and wig‐ the wall behind it, but as the wall is gle room. So with some wiggle room built in, made out of thin plaster, the wall crum‐ we have our general time set aside in which bles and covers the Dalek’s eye and sur‐ we can run an adventure. rounds it with plaster wall sections and Sometimes a GM will plan an adven‐ now the Dalek cannot move and is inca‐ ture and the players sail through it, figuring pacitated.”) out the plot and getting just the right die rolls. Occasionally, an adventure that a GM thought ● Wrap up a scene (especially the end‐ would take longer seems to be way ahead of ing of a game) by simply describing eve‐ schedule. A solid GM can slow a game like this rything that happens. Players do not down, by adding extra encounters, or compli‐ need to be involved in every part of the cating the plot. But this is not a danger to THERE ARE NUMEROUS story to influence its outcome. After breaking the Gamer’s Time Contract. Ending DOCTOR WHO RELATED the final battle, just let the players know TIME PIECES YOU CAN early is not nearly as bad as ending late. If GET TO HELP KEEP how things play out and that they left need be, one can always play another adven‐ AN EYE ON THE CLOCK. the planet. ture (a good GM always has at least one more module in reserve), or talk about great stories ● Use a Deus Ex Machina (‘Machine of from previous games. Sometimes players will God’) to resolve a situation. Have be happy that they can leave a little early as something happen ‘just because’. For well. This only becomes a problem if the play‐ example, the players are stuck with a ers feel that the GM’s modules are consis‐ patrol of Daleks between them and tently too short. Consider this less of a con‐ their spaceship. Suddenly there is an cern. Earthquake (just because) and the The hardest things for Game Masters Daleks are covered in a rockslide allow‐ to learn is to fit an adventure into the avail‐ ing the players to get past them. If you able time that the players have. This is an es‐ feel you need to explain why, just go pecially important skill for GMs who hope to with the flow (“the planet is somewhat referee at conventions or tournaments. Plan‐ unstable and that’s the way it is”). De‐ ning the pace of a game can be hard. But have pending on your campaign having UNIT, no worries, it is something that improves as Torchwood or the Time Lords show up GMs gain experience. As a referee moves and help the TARDIS crew is always a their adventure forward they should keep good option. track of the events and encounters that they

have planned. GMs should be sure to know ● Cut your players off if they are talk‐ which encounters are absolutely necessary for ing too long or hogging the game spot‐ a game, and which can be eliminated or ig‐ light. Sometimes it’s not the GM that is nored in a time crunch. going long but the players dragging The sidebar to this article gives various things out. Do not be afraid to reign tips that GMs can use when they are feeling them in. the time squeeze. Often Game Masters are (continued next page) reluctant to use some of these tips because

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(continued from previous page)

● Modify the plot of the adventure. Not every module needs to play out like you planned. You can change the plot, what is going to happen or the bad guy on the fly. This also lets you save your more complex plot for another day.

● Change the module so that it is the first part of a series. The players may only have uncovered part of the prob‐ lem and it may not look like they will solve the adventure. Get them to a fairly good break point and reveal that “A GOOD GM MANAGES THEIR GAME TIME TO FINISH THE STORY AND ENSURE THE PLAYERS DO NOT GET BOGGED DOWN!” there is a bigger threat, then call the game. Return to the story arc in an‐ they do not want to rob the players of the module’s full potential or other adventure. short the players on the experience. We give the following word of ad‐ vice as more important than any other: the real world affects the play‐ ers more than anything that happens in the game. Regardless of how THINGS FOR TIMELY detailed the adventure is meant to be, and how cool a GMs ideas were, GMS TO CONSIDER that will not be a factor in the player’s enjoyment if they get yelled at by parents or significant others for being out too late. The module’s ● Choose a game end time with the details may be awesome, but if a player misses an exam the next day players before the game. Stick to that and flunks out of school, the story will not be nearly as epic as the dam‐ time, as best as possible. Players often age that happened to their college career. Being able to manage your have other appointments and responsi‐ player’s time helps manage your group, and thus ensure that there are bilities. Be sure to consider their real many more games to come. lives not just their in‐game characters. Game Masters also must realize that being able to adhere to Contrary to popular belief gamers need the Gamer Time Contract is one of the things that makes them a great a full night of sleep too. Older gamers GM. Figuring out when to stretch the details of the module to fit the sometimes have families or jobs waiting time, and when to cut out unnecessary elements is a key GM skill. It is for them as well. as important as realizing what parts of the adventure the players are really enjoying and giving them more of the same in follow on encoun‐ ● Keep a clock (or a watch) in the room, ters or games. Managing the game time allows you to give the players and pace your adventure appropri‐ the excitement that they crave during the game. No one wants that ately. excitement simply cut off, and most prefer the story of the evening to ● If you think that the game is going to finish at a logical point. Keeping an eye on the clock ensures a total run longer than expected, ask the play‐ experience. ers if extending the game time is al‐ Of course, at the end of the session save some time for your right with them. It is recommended to players to wind down and clean up. We go into more detail on this in ask this as soon as the GM knows the the following article “After the Game”. Generally though, all the play‐ game might go long. Otherwise use the ers also need some time to process the experience after the game. tips we have given to speed up the That means being sure to end the adventure before the agreed upon game and hold to the agreed end time. time has been reached. Newer players may not get this, but the after‐ game ritual is also an important part of the game experience. ● If you know you’ll have the same Despite being a game about time travel, Doctor Who is no ex‐ group of players, or you are part of a ception to the fact that a GM needs to manage the flow of the game to regular gaming group, stop the adven‐ ensure it ends on time. This will make the players happy and will en‐ ture at the appropriate point close to, sure that there are no ill consequences that may prevent people from or before, the agreed upon time. showing up in the future. It will ensure everyone has fun.

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PLAYER TIPS: AFTER THE GAME

There are some universal things that players can do after a game to create a great gaming atmosphere. The game may be over for that day but the following suggestions or courtesies will ensure that everyone has a great experience and that your host will want to invite you back for another game in the future.

● GMs should be sure to remember this ‘After Game” time when time managing and planning the evening. Plan time for all the following tips.

● GMs should allow for some wind‐down time immediately after play stops, when players think and talk about the adventure that they have just gone through. Some players and GMs like to jot down some notes about the adventure that just took place at this time. Often players remi‐ nisce about the highlights of the adventure that they just participated in. This is part of the process of understanding and making sense of the ex‐ perience that just happened. Be sure to plan for this time. We recom‐ mend that adventures end about 15 minutes before the time all of the players have to leave.

● Pack up your dice and books as appropriate. The host may be the person that decides how long you can stay at a certain location, but when time is close or there are other appointments no one wants someone who is cleaning up their stuff to dilly‐dally slowly. If everyone is going to hang out for a while, you can always unpack those things you need to share again.

● Discuss or resolve any in‐game or rules arguments after the game. If there were any disagreements during the game, now is the time to question any GM calls (not during the adventure). Also it is important for players (and GMs) to be tactful and respectful when bringing up such issues. Having a yell‐fest or mean spirited argument is not good for any game group, and if this after‐game discussion devolves quickly, the GM or host, should simply call the evening and save the discussion for another time. That said, in our experience resolving the issue before people leave the game, and their memories cheat the truth of events, is a better than letting a concern fester. We also know that this is a more volatile situation for younger and more inexperienced players than seasoned veter‐ ans, and that major arguments will take more time to resolve. The goal here is a fair and calm discussion.

● Help clean up the game table and space. Especially if this is not your house, do not leave behind empty soda bottles or plates of half‐eaten pizza. Do your part and clean up the garbage. Ask the host if there is a place for recyclables or where the garbage is at if you do not know.

● If players want to hang out longer than the game me at the locaon that everyone is at, ask the host if it is OK to stay longer and chill. Hosts should give a straight answer, and players should not expect to be accommodated. The host is the person that decides how long you can stay and players should never complain about the host’s choices.

● Whenever you can, thank your host, and their significant other, for hosting the game and welcoming you into their space. If your host has roommates, thank them as well for putting up with the game. Sacrificing one’s peace and quiet to allow a game in one’s space is a big deal, and good players thank people for their tolerance in invad‐ ing their space. Thanking a husband, wife, partner or roommate (especially if they did not participate in the game) is more important than thanking the host, though you should be sure to make the effort and thank both.

● Players should quietly leave the host’s house, apartment or dorm room. Just because you are out of the house does not mean that you can’t disturb the host’s sleeping children, neighbors or the neighborhood. Be sure to re‐ spect others that the host has to live with every day.

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GAMER POLL: FAVORITE BEVERAGE AT A GAMING SESSION

We put the question to a number of our readers asking “What is your favorite beverage at a gaming ses‐ sion?” We were a bit surprised at the results. Coming in at the top of the lit was a tie between water and the clas‐ sic gamer drink Mountain Dew. For the poll, we did group all flavors of Mountain Dew as some people specified “Code Red” and the like. Dr. Pepper was our next strong poll result which was not expected. We also had to group cola as an answer as the two re‐ sponses were “Pepsi” and “Coke Zero” that fit the category. The rest of the poll was all over the chart with various answers of drinks that people like. The pollsters also an‐ swered with two interesting results we put at the end of the poll. We had one answer of Beer, which re‐ minds us that before any alcoholic beverage is at a game, make sure to clear it with the group and the host of the game. And one respondent said they prefer no drinks at a game ‐ while there was no reason given for the answer, we think it might be to protect the character sheets and other game gear from spillers. Sample size: 26 respondents

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